I MADE MY PEACE WITH IT

We have been going to Mammoth Lakes, CA for one week each summer for 18 years now. There are a lot of things I love about tradition. Earlier this year we talked about whether or not we should continue to go. With my COPD I have been more cabin bound over the years. I haven't really minded because I sit and read all day long. Mark on the other hand has hiked just about every trail over and over again, most of the time alone unless the kids came up for a visit.

So we decided to ask the kids what they thought. Both couples thought it was time for us to move on. My heart was a little broken but I understood the decision. I was praying that like most traditions as time goes on they begin to involve grandchildren. Well we have a long wait on that one!

I told Mark that I thought we should write a letter to Wood's Lodge and explain some things to them. You know there are people who continue their tradition and often it is a long waiting list to get into one of the cabins. We have stayed there for at least 10 years. So I wrote a letter explaining how much we love it but also the fact that since we are so high up the mountain it has become difficult for me to leave the cabin.  There are some cabins closer to the lake and more accessible to flat walking around the lake and camp grounds nearby. I wanted him to know how much we enjoyed our stay with them.

So I made my peace with this decision and began to get excited for something new. We talked about spending a few days in Carmel, CA which I have never been to and also spending a few days in King's Canyon National Park to enjoy the Sequoia trees.  Yes I have seen Sequoias in other parks but not at King's Canyon. So we started researching places to stay.  Since I have been in a beach mood lately I really wanted to stay by the water.  We started to have conflicting ideas and having words about it.

Well we ended up receiving a letter in the mail from Wood's Lodge letting us know about one of the cabins closer to the lake that is available on Saturday June 30th. I would be able to do some walking which I am excited about. We may even fish again since we will be closer to the water. I could never get back up that hill. It even got harder for Mark. We are around 9,200 ft elevation at Wood's Lodge in the High Sierras.

So I pointed out to Mark that it wouldn't change things for him, he would still have the same old trails to hike and that I was rather excited about our new adventures. Well he is pumped about going in early July compared to August. This year should be fine since it was mild Winter. Normally August is the warmest which is nice for the High Sierras. Last year in July our normal cabin wasn't even open, it was still totally covered in snow!  Anyway, we are going again giving it one more try.

I know this is hard to read but we have been staying in cabin 6 for many years now. (over on the left side of the map) Now we will be in cabin 19 on the right side of the map closer to the lake. Now I know you can't see a big difference here on the map but let me tell you it is a huge difference. Cabin 6 is straight up a steep incline from the water. It was even hard on the kids to climb up it!

So off we go tomorrow to our new week in Mammoth Lakes.  Oh and the other thing that is nice is now we are in a Saturday to Saturday rental. Cabin six was a Sunday to Sunday so Mark is happy to have the extra day before going back to work. You can view our photos from previous posts here: MAMMOTH LAKES, CA  (I may not have phone service or internet service unless I go to town so if you don't hear from me you just assume I'm having fun!)

Have I made peace with this change?  I will let you know!

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RANDOMLY SPEAKING

So here are some random things I have to show you:

I decided to get Mark the new little Keurig coffee maker for Father's Day. Yellow of course was for me! He has one at work and really loves it but since he only drinks coffee on the weekend at home we thought it would be better to have the one without the reservoir. So you put in the cup of water each time before brewing.  I seldom have coffe or tea.

Mark bought me this picture for our anniversary. You can see how large it is by the dining room table.  It is black and white but the Eiffel Tower is yellow with the evening lights. I had seen this at IKEA and told him about it. It is not an expensive piece of art work but it is the River Seine in Paris which the boat ride we took on our anniversary night last year when we were there. I am thinking of hanging over our bed in the bedroom. (it is covered in plastic in this photo)

My new farmhouse baskets. I just love them!

This is how you will find Skye sleeping with her fuzzless ball right by her. Can you see she needed a haircut?

Well that is what she got today....a haircut!

You will also notice that she doesn't like to look at me.

Looking for a lizard!

Well I better get crackin' on packin' !!!!!!

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

Join in with us, click on the button

and head on over to Joyce's place!

1. What do the words 'freedom' and 'liberty' mean to you? Does your mind go more in the direction of not being persecuted or discriminated against or does it head in the direction of doing what you please?
I'm not really sure on this one. I think that we are in so much trouble that we don't mean much at all anymore and that makes me sad.

2. Nathan's sponsors a hot dog eating contest every 4th of July. Last year over 40,000 people attended the event and almost 2 million watched it on TV. The winner ate over 60 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. How do you like your hot dogs?

I like my Hot Dogs with mustard!

3. If you were going to enter an eating contest what would be on the menu?
Pizza....duh! I swear I can eat pizza for ever.

4. Do you run your house more as a dictatorship or a democracy?

I would say that years ago I was pretty much of a dictator. Now I don't run much of anything!

5. Where was your favorite summer place when you were a kid?

Well we use to go to a home that my grandparents had in Union Pier, MI.  I remember it but I was very young when we did that. The memories with my children at a cottage near Antioch, IL that my dad use to have are my favorite memories and my children cherish them too. This picture is from when we visited in October 2010. I love this photo because the pier shows the years of being used in the past. This is where the memories were made!  Doesn't it scream sadness of years gone by?

6. Do you have a guest room? Would you want to stay there?

Yes we actually have two guest rooms that I would love to stay in. I have two guest rooms that I would love to be able to have company stay in, only problem is Amber & Dylan live in them now for over two years. One is their bedroom and one is their tv room. (actually it's not a problem other than the fact that we can't have company visit)

7. Next Wednesday America celebrates her independence. Do you have any special plans for the 4th of July? If you live outside the USA when and how does your country celebrate its own patriotic holiday?

For the first time ever we will not be home for the 4th of July. I will miss watching all the surrounding towns fireworks from our backyard. We will be in Mammoth Lakes this year and outside of town at Crowley Lake there are supposed to be fireworks. I love fireworks!!!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I have to say I am sitting here with a hurting heart. As you know my dad turned 89 yesterday. My sister, brother-in-law and 2 nieces in their 30's all live close by. Not one of them went over to be with my dad or take him out for dinner. See on Saturday my great-niece turned 16 so they sang happy birthday to him there at the party. Do you really think that was enough?....I don't :(  He sat home all day on his 89th birthday! I hope they called him.

Because Mark and I have our anniversary the day before I am not normally with my dad on his birthday. I have been with him for the other important big numbers. Since we were celebrating our marriage from 40 years ago and we leave for Mammoth Lakes on Saturday I didn't go this year.  Also I am planning on taking the whole family down next summer for his 90th. Now I feel bad that I didn't go this year to be with him.

SOMEONE VERY SPECIAL TO ME

Happy Birthday Dad!

(His name is Raymond)

My dad is 89 today and I love him so much.

 These would both be in the very early 40's.

Maybe 1955! (I'm the little one)

Ray and Dorothy

1972 - My Wedding

2009

2009

 2012

He is one of the most giving people I know. He worked hard to give us a wonderful life growing up. I wish we lived closer, it's so hard not living nearby him but we talk almost daily.(sometimes several times a day!) My mom passed away in 1982 and nine months later my husband had left me. I have to be honest with you, I had no clue how lonely he was after my mother died until Mark had left me. Talk about putting yourself in someone else's shoes. I learned a lot from that, that's how our lives get changed and we learn about compassion. My father and I have been best friends ever since. Hopefully I will get to visit with him this summer even though it is unbearable in Florida this time of year. I have to soak up as much time as I can with him!

40 YEARS AGO TODAY

June 24, 1972

Cutting the cake!

 My favorite with my dad!

We honeymooned on Mackinac Island, MI

Remarried on June 24, 1989 after

six years separated/divorced.

 2001

 2009

 2009

Looking forward to getting a picture of us together

at a family wedding in Chicago in September. Especially

since I have dropped some weight! Mark always looks great

and just keeps getting more handsome in my eyes.

Our family in 2010

Last year on this day we were in Paris!

We went to Versailles for the afternoon and

had a beautiful dinner that evening.

Then at 11:00pm we took a boat ride down the River Seine.

Happy Anniversary Mark....I Love You!

(So officially we are married 34 years)

EXCUSE ME WHILE I POUT....

....and I try to put on my big girl panties.

I was spoiled as a child. I pretty much got what I wanted within reason. I didn't have to clean house or do the dishes. I barely kept my room clean. My mom was an awesome housekeeper and after I married I also kept an immaculate house. It's in our blood, the blood that flows with OCD. Then about 17 years ago I had gotten ill. With some stressful times I had a full blown asthma attack. Spent 8 days in the hospital while they were trying to get my lungs to function properly.

After coming home I wasn't able to do many things around the house. My husband did a lot to help out. Eventually little by little I got my strength back but I have never been the same. In some ways it was a good thing to let go of the obsession of cleaning. I use to be the type of person who moved the washing machine, dryer and furniture all the time to clean behind them. From the time the kids left for school until they came home I cleaned house!

So fast forward to today.  You have heard me say I want to be a Queen but I didn't realize that I was actually pretty fortunate the last few years. Isn't that something like "You can't see the forest through the trees." So we moved into our new home 5 1/2 years ago and it's almost twice the size of our last home. I was struggling to keep it clean. About three years ago Amber started coming out once a week and was helping to clean our home. She welcomed the extra money. Well when they moved in two years ago it became her job since they were given a very nice gift of living here with us.

Well as you know Amber has gotten her full time job at Hallmark which of course involves a 40 hour week. She was working about 20-25 hrs. before.  She truly does not have time to clean our home anymore. I get that, however I do not want to do it. I loathed it!  Since I do not want a stranger in my home I am not in the market for a housekeeper although maybe my mind will be changed quickly with time. Did you ever spend time talking yourself into something you didn't want to do? Yep, that's where I'm at while the house falls to the wayside.

Well I've had to bite the bullet and get my butt in gear.  I'm not liking it but I'm doing it. My plan is to do a room each day so it doesn't overwhelm me. Also with my COPD I can't manage to do a lot more than that. Well I have done a great job of putting those daily chores off. So a few weeks ago I spent a Saturday dusting and vacuuming 4 rooms. I DID IT! Not convinced that I like it but maybe with time the pride that I use to have in my home will come back. It's amazing how lazy we can become and how lazy breeds lazy. It takes strength to face our challenges. I know what your thinking, heck we all do this everyday what's the big deal......well it's a big deal to me!  

I still dream of being a Queen!

UPDATE: I cleaned house all day yesterday and did laundry. Absolutely no issues with my lungs. Still not using Primatene Mist which I couldn't live without before. I am also off of all steroids for about a month now. I don't know this woman! I actually think I might be able to do some hiking in Mammoth Lakes this year. So I thought I would show you my husbands office since I spent quite a bit of time dusting it yesterday. (I guess the house cleaning is a good workout for me too!)

I have my own office too which is bigger than his but certainly not as neat/clean. (I dusted that last weekend) I actually spend my entire day in my office. He has our older love seat in his office and I have the couch in mine, the chair and ottoman are in our bedroom. What I don't have is a really nice chair like he has! My office is where I do all of my blogging and TV watching too since Mark watches his shows in the family room. We each have our own DVR! (actually that is pretty sad because we don't spend our evenings together except on the weekends when we watch Netflix movies)

Have a nice weekend. We are celebrating Father's Day tomorrow since Mark has been out of town since last Sunday so I am looking forward to a nice meal out!  Sorry this came out so long :(

 

THEY REDEEMED THEMSELVES BUT.....

Redeemed: past participle, past tense of re·deem (Verb) Verb:
1.Compensate for the faults or bad aspects of (something): "a disappointing debate redeemed by an outstanding speech".
2.Do something that compensates for poor past performance or behavior.

So I was able to get my car back today. Of course they waited until 5pm so I could sit in traffic on the freeways. But never the less I have my car back.

I have had Mini Coopers for almost 9 years now. My first Mini I had for five years. Loved it so much. My current Mini is almost four years old. I had upgraded to the Mini S and I love it too!

I bought both of my Mini Coopers in Irvine, CA. The dealership there has been excellent, I really like them and trust them.  I get three free oil changes with my mini. I go once a year for my annual oil change. It is required every 10,000 miles but I don't put that many miles on so I just go once a year.

So two years ago when a Mini dealer opened closer to our house I decided to go there. Well the experience in my opinion was horrible. I felt that all they wanted to do was sell me things I didn't need. Looking back now I understand why I had to buy a new battery at that time but I was angry. See you can only buy their battery, no other battery will fit and they are expensive. I can't remember the other thing that happened at that visit but I left there with $600. less in wallet when all I went in for was the free oil change. So I told myself that I wouldn't go back and I didn't. Last year I went back to the Mini dealer in Irvine.

Well when my battery was dead yesterday I didn't want to risk driving the car to Irvine so I went to the local dealer. I told them this is crazy, we put a new battery in two years when the car was only two years old. My last mini had the same battery for 5 years. Because of the constant draw that the computer requires the car needs to be driven more or eventually (apparently every two years for me) the battery will no longer hold a charge. The Mini S has a computer that drawers even more from the battery. I get that and because of that it is not covered under warranty.

Well they did redeem themselves.  They covered the cost of the battery but asked that I buy a device to help keep my battery up to par when it's not being driven. I agreed to that. Since I already had the car in the shop I went ahead and got an oil change too. They also gave me a discount coupon for the oil change so I walked out of there today with a charge of $l58. which was fine with me. The annual oil change cost is close to that price anyway and now I have this little device which will hopefully keep this from happening again.

Believe me, the Mini Cooper is a very nice car, don't let this experience of mine ever keep you from getting one if your desire one. My next new car will be another Mini Cooper!

But........I will still be going back to my dealer in Irvine because they are superior to this local dealer.

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

Thank you Joyce :)

1. Summer officially rolls in with the Hodgepodge this week, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere anyway. What song says summer 2012 to you?

Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (Will Smith-1998)

2. What's your favorite quintessential summer food?

I don't think I have one. It's not like I say "I can't wait for summer so I can have...." this or that! I will say that when I think of summer I may think about sweet corn or watermelon compared to other times of year.

3. I've spent a lot of time traipsing up and down the NJ Turnpike in recent weeks. Did you know the rest areas on the turnpike are named after people who lived or worked in NJ? Clara Barton, Walt Whitman, James Fenimore Cooper, Molly Pitcher, Joyce Kilmer, Thomas Edison, and Gover Clevland just to name a few. Of those I listed, who would you most like to have known and why?

Well I only recognize two names, Walt Whitman and Thomas Edison. I think I would choose Walt Whitman.

4. At what age did you move out of your parent's house and what prompted the move?

I was 4 months shy of turning 21. My marriage to Mark prompted my move 40 years ago. I was never one of those who had dreams of a career or college. Being a wife and mother was my dream.

5. What's more satisfying to you-saving time or saving money?

Being 60 I feel more motivated to save time, make the best of the years I have yet in order to enjoy those years we need to save money! Let's face it, saving money is definitely satisfying. You would think by now I would have learned how to do that :)

6. Name something you think brings out the good in people.
Well it isn't like my day yesterday when my car was dead in the garage. Had to have AAA out and then was able to drive it to the dealer. I had many choice words to say to them! It's too long to go into.

I think kindness and respect can bring out the good in people.

7. This last question comes to you courtesy of Kathy over at Reflections...will you be taking a vacation or a staycation this summer? If so where will you go? If a staycation is on the calendar have you made any special plans to fill the time?
I have a post coming up on June 29th about our vacation this year. Yes we normally take one each year. We always go to Mammoth Lakes, CA and stay in a cabin on Lake George at 9,200 ft. elevation.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Something is going on that I don't understand. Over the last 5 1/2 years in this house we have had maybe two gophers and they were gone within a short period of time. This year we struggled with a family for over two months who made hole after hole in our yard. Things are finally back in order but then comes the bunnies. This is the first year with bunnies here. So the bunnies now take off all the heads of the newly planted areas, eating the stems to the flowers.  They also nibbled some strawberries Sunday night! I now have to go out into the yard with a broom each morning because of their never ending poops. (Eww...and yes, even on the steps going up into the above ground spa) Now what we haven't seen, and I am thanking God daily for this, are the gopher snakes and coyotes. So what is going on, is our environment changing. The circle of life is broken.

PINT - EARLY EDITION

Post It Note Tuesday - A day early because I can!  

New Post Over At Debby's Tree

UPDATE: Okay, I messed up on my weight loss, it is more than a pound a week. I must have reversed them. Duh!

 

P.S. Kristin no longer does the PINT but I will still give her credit for the meme.