·
Saturday, 30 June 2007
Fechin Gallery in
One of the highpoints of our trip to
The gallery, which is housed in the home
Fechin built himself, is wonderful. It
is bright and airy, a place that invites one to linger. His paintings are wonderful and though his
subjects are very American there are hints of Russian babushkas hiding in them.
Over the
We poked around a
bit in
We slept in an
unincorporated area of northern
·
Friday 29 June 2007
Accepting the Job
We lunched at a
bright restaurant run by a wonderful business women with a strong vision and
sense of integrity. It was delightful to
listen to the reasons behind her business decisions. She loves her business and radiates with
enthusiasm. She vests each of the
decisions she makes with respect and joy.
After the meal, which was hosted by dear
friends (and mentors) of my in-laws, we had the opportunity to escape for a
couple hours. We wandered through a
couple interesting shops while we discussed our future. Somehow we made a decision. It was not forced, it seemed to simply
unfold. We somehow just knew.
So we stopped and
bought a small bouquet and headed over to the Habitat for Humanity offices to
tell them yes! Yes, Mark will accept the
AmeriCorps position with Habitat for Humanity.
We will use that position as a means of becoming part of the community
and as a way to commit to a new life in the
Making a happy
decision is a bit like falling in love.
Once you say it out loud, there is a feeling of being free. I want to dance and laugh.
·
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Dinner at Gabriel’s
They make the
guacamole at your table at this
We enjoy a very
nice meal with my in-laws and their good friend, R. He is a friend from their
·
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
We Visit
What a beautiful place. I am reminded of our life in
The hollyhocks
please my eye. The color and light
appeals to me. The sound of water in the
fountains delights the ear. So much art,
music and such a variety of cultures.
We sightsee
downtown and drive around making a windshield tour of the area. Despite all the tourists,
·
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
Breakfast at the Galaxy Diner (Where we
Lose our Camera)
We had a great
breakfast at an old-timey diner and then hit the road with
Job Interview in the Desert
I have a phone
interview. The plan is to find a pay
phone enroute and contact the interviewers at the designated time.
I end up outdoors,
sweating in the middle of a desolate desert, standing at a pay phone that does
not work. I resort to using the cell
phone, though the signal is erratic.
Mark holds an umbrella over my head as I stay calm and answer the
challenges. Boy do I feel less than
professional. I score points for being
resourceful and determined!
Actually, the
interview goes well. I am stimulated by
the job description and their vision. I
am comfortable with the women conducting the interview. By the end of the
conference call, they make a job offer.
They have interviewed many people for this high visibility
position. I am delighted with the
offer. Mark has interviews later this
week (one in Santa Fe and one in Minneapolis) so I tell them I will give them
my answer on Monday.
What a picture:
standing in 105 degree heat in the middle of a desert, conducting a job
interview…and I did not even break a sweat!
Albuquerque’s Oldtown
It is hot, hot,
hot (101 degrees at 6PM) in
Tomorrow – off to
·
Monday, 25 June 2007 – Gas $3.59/103
degrees
Breakfast at the
See the film. I saw it years ago so when I saw the sign, I
knew this stop could be fun! The Bagdad
Café (that’s
We headed east out
of LA with vague plans to breakfast on the road. Little did we know that there would be few
opportunities to eat. The few cafes we
saw on the road were closed on Monday AM and towns are far apart on the
desert. So when we stumbled on the
Bagdad Café, we were quite happy to order coffee and breakfast.
“The cook quit,”
said the rather scruffy hostess (owner) of this rather seedy place where the
film was made many years ago. She
splashed some coffee into our cups and said, “I’ll cook up something, but we
don’t have many supplies”
A rater dubious
start, but I ended up with a plate of excellent pancakes, some of the best I
ever had! Wile we waited for our meal,
we leafed through a huge scrapbook, packed with postcards, letters, photos and
memorabilia from customers from all over the world. The movie has a dedicated international
following, evidenced by all the notes written in French and other foreign
languages.
This dusty desert
oasis provided a fine diversion and a tasty meal as well as hours of
conversation. We posed for photos,
signed the guest book and returned to the road, smiling and full.
Gas Prices…
We gas up in
Needles, AZ and pay $3.59 per gallon.
445 miles fro our starting point (
This is a
remarkable sight – a must see. I wish we
could camp here.
We see elk,
rabbits, deer and pristine conifer forests as we head toward
An Evening in Downtown
We dine at an outdoor
café, sipping wine and listening to the sound of the train whistle.
·
Saturday, 23 June 2007
We pack up to
begin the journey back east. We leave
Monday at daybreak. This leg of the
journey will be shared with my in-laws who travel to SD each summer to relax
for a few months in a lovely second home in the
When we arrived a
few weeks ago, we carried only one suitcase and two carry on bags, but already
we have accumulated more stuff. It is
the great American tradition to consume.
Shortly after we
arrived, I had the opportunity to shop in the community second-hand clothing
emporium where I was able to expand my limited repertoire of clothing at very
low prices. Needless to say, my tiny red
carry on bag now bulges with clothes. So
much for traveling light!
We have also
acquired things so in order to travel easily, we must UPS some of the new
delights back to our SC home.
I struggle
somewhat with this embarrassment of riches.
After a few years living Peace Corps life, all these things seem more
like complications to me rather than pleasures.
I have to deal with them. With
fewer things to care for, I felt more joy in the caring. This feeling of being almost oppressed by
things generally passes, though the whispers in my head are not altogether
silent.
When we establish
ourselves in a residence of our own, will I revert to the consumer mode or will
I streamline and simplify life?
There is almost a
schizophrenic feeling – a desire to have it all, to buy, buy, buy and yet, like
a kid who has eaten too much candy, I know I will pay. Things do not satiate or satisfy. I feel certain strength when I simply walk
away rather than making a purchase.
·
Friday, 20 June 2007
A Day at the
Gutenberg Bible, Chaucer’s
works…Koi in the
This is a
wonderful place to spend leisure hours!
Thursday at the Getty Villa and the
LA rush hour
freeway experience … hours in the car … the great
The amazing Greek antiquities of
We are halfway
around the world from our former home in
·
Thursday, 21 June 2007
Off on a Rant…
I hit the send
button yesterday. Trying to get my
convoluted work history digitized with some accuracy has been and continues to
be a challenge. Job applications and
resumes are generally online now. Even
though I am comfortable with the Internet and have a long, on-going affair with
my keyboard, this method leaves me irritated, depressed, overwrought.
At thus point in
life I have a long, varied history. I am
a dynamic woman and have lived a rich full life, so getting it down with any
precision is virtually impossible.
Getting the details straight is complicated because many of the places I
have work suffered in the down-sizing of the US Air Force – almost every base
and unit have been deactivated.
My most recent
venture (adventure) with the Peace Corps presents a dilemma too. I was medivaced during training and due to
unexpected surgery (mammogram) ended up being separated from that
organization. Since my spouse was sworn
in as a legitimate Peace Corps Volunteer, I decided to simply get an
appropriate visa and move back to
I also have a
wealth of varied volunteer experiences: crisis intervention counseling,
community theater (acting, costuming, set design), Renn-Fair apprentice; radio
experience; Recording for the Blind; answering phones at 6-7 NPR stations at
various stateside locations; innumerable fundraising gigs for a variety of
causes, presentations for the organ donor network; my pet project (CALEB
Library Project), wrangling Brownie and Cub Scouts; hosting weekly English
Conversation Club; membership chair for Friends of Ukraine; a stint as the
Coordinator for NOW; worker bee for a music co-op and a pre-school and a couple
animal shelters…Recording for the Blind experience, rape crisis intervention
service and suicide intervention counseling are also part of my history….n and
on. My spouse and I volunteer in
whatever community we currently call home and as a career Air Force veteran, we
have had many homes and many wonderful opportunities!
Encapsulating my
essence into these checklists and summing things up in short phrases seems
impossible and is, in my humble opinion, not a very effective way to screen
candidates.
While I did manage
to fire off a couple applications yesterday, Mark beat me to the send button
and has already received a few inquiries, completed a couple phone interviews
and has an appointment for a site visit and second interview. He just blithely taps away doing his
application, seeming to never second guess his choice of words, etc. He never experiences the irritation of having
the access time-out midway through his education history.
Timing out –
whew. Another irritant of online
applications! My education history is
lengthy (I have an AA, BS and MA) and because I completed my courses over an
extended time, relocating frequently, it is tedious and time-consuming to fill
in the blocks. Federal job applications
are the worst since they often request a detailed listing of specific classes
taken. Invariably, the system times-out
and with it, my information too.
Sometimes there are not enough blocks.
Sigh.
Almost every base
I served at has closed, so this adds to the dilemma and my career path may too
erratic since the downsizing f the Air Force also meant changes to the specific
job I actually did. This is career broadening,
but adds to my application drama.
At this point in
my life, I often consider simply moving to the community and pursuing a
position that involves a more direct screening process. I could quite happily accept a position as a
pet-sitter. This would leave much of my
day available for more creative endeavors, such as writing and working on CALEB
Library Project.
Or maybe I could
just head to Malawi and contribute directly to life at Mawingamara Farm.
So I struggle
through yet one more transition in a wonderful life filled with many joys and
delights. Who knows what adventure lies
ahead.
We lunched here on
Olvera Street in Los Angeles – great Mexican food!
Visiting the
California Mountains! We lunched at a
little inn and had a wonderful day!
·
Monday, 18 June 2007
Catching up and Getting a Routine in Sunny
California
I am a woman who
likes routine and privacy. This communal
life we are living wears on me a bit.
But we are happy and grateful to be here.
I do need unbroken
time to think and write, private time to study and contemplate the lesson
(Christian Science); time to linger quietly over coffee and observe the day
beginning. The past few weeks (months) I
rise in the home of friends and family and most days to hit the ground running,
eating rich foods (lovingly prepared by my hosts) and elbow to elbow with
people all day long.
One of the gifts I
experienced in Kerch was the opportunity to organize my day to meet my own
demands and preferences. I had time
alone and I enjoyed it.
During this
transition period where we are lucky enough to be with friends and family, I
feel harried and on guard much of the time.
Being gracious and polite is hard work.
In a few months I
will remember only the pleasures. I am,
of course, very grateful for this hospitality, but it will be good to have our
own space again. I may be fat and lazy
and cranky by then!
Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad V!
We dine out with
thee other couples (including my in-laws, see photos) who are all celebrating
their wedding 
anniversary. The evening is filled with stories, great
Chinese food and ends back at the house with a delightful jam session. The music was folk and brought back memories
of when Mark performed with his Dad at coffee houses and sang anti-war
stuff!
·
Sunday, 10 June 2007
We Arrive in Claremont…
Mom and Dad V meet us at the bus
station. Yes, we arrived in time for
church, but we elected to play hooky today.
Time for a hot shower before lunch!
Lunch was our
introduction to life at Pilgrim Place. All
residents dine together each noon. The
seating arrangements change each day and with the diverse group of people here,
that means conversations remain stimulating.
During daily announcements, we are introduced to everyone.
After lunch we
attend a seminar on Peace.
It is pleasant to
see the V’s furniture transplanted from the Chicago condo to this California
bungalow. It seems just right and it
feels like home!
·
Saturday, 9 June 2007
Back on the Bus!
We splurge a bit on dinner at the Outback
before delightful daughter and wonderful son-in-law drop us at the bus
station. It is pleasant to eat and
talk. We will miss them.
It’s been a good
visit. We helped the grandkids get ready
for their separate trips and had lots of lazy time to talk. No big agenda here, just relaxing.
The wait for the
bus requires us to line up and wait to board.
If you do not stand in line, you may not get a seat. It is not a practical process, but it is the
routine at every stop. So rather than
sitting in the chairs, we stand by our luggage for hours, waiting to board the
bus. It is an opportunity to people
watch.
People lay down on
the floor and sleep.
Some Photos of Kids and Grandkids...
·
Tuesday, 5 June 2007 – Moriah’s Birthday!
We are at the
airport in Reno, NV, waiting to board a flight to Phoenix, AZ. Our daughter will pick us up. This will be a whirlwind visit, since the
grandkids have lives of their own – happy, happy granddaughter is off to CA
(visions of Disneyland and Sea World!) and Boy Scout grandson to Alaska in just
a few days. C. and M. have anniversary
plans too. Juggling schedules and
coordinating visits is tough.
Last time we were
all together was in Phoenix for Christmas 2004.
Lots of great memories from that crazy, whirlwind trip. In my experience, if you wait for things to
be perfect, you just don’t get it done.
Boarding call – we
are off to the next leg of our trip.
·
Friday, 1 June 2007
Reno and Mom and Dad P…
We arrive in Reno,
NV and spend a few days with more family.
Our visit in Reno found us dining very well…eating in casinos is an
invitation to get fat! We also took a
drive around Lake Tahoe and picnicked on the beach. Mark helped his Dad with a number of household
tasks and we had a chance to meet some of Russ and Lou’s friends.
Dad & Mom P & my spouse!
A Reno View
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TO READ MAY POSTS OR OTHER OLDER ENTRIES,
RETURN TO THE ARCHIVES ON THE LEFT.
FYI: If you want to read about our initial Peace Corps adventures,
start with January 2005; that’s when we received our invitation (short-notice)
to Ukraine!
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