A Friendly Reunion

On our trip to visit my Nevada roots, we spent some quality time with my great-grandparents in a tacky pioneer cemetery in the small town my mama grew up in. They can't help that it's ugly. It's not like they can cover everything with grass. Even though it is truthfully an ugly place, I still like it because it reminds me of all the people I love. Plus, it speaks to the harsh environment and hearty people (of which I am one) who made it their home, which is entirely appropriate:

 You may be interested to know that I learned how to drive in this cemetery when I was about 8 years old. (Thanks, grandma, you're the best!) I wish you could all spend an hour perusing this little gem of burial land, because it has some of the most interesting monuments and hodgepodge of memorials. You know, only if cemeteries are your thing. It makes me wonder if any of the people buried there imagined this would be their final resting place. I'm pretty sure my great-grandparents did not.

It also makes me imagine my own. I always planned on donating my body to science then getting cremated, but I'm starting to understand how important a resting place is to people (even after they have passed on and can't do anything about it themselves). What about you? What do you imagine your final resting place to be?

Hoover Dam

The three of us took an impromptu trip to see the Hoover Dam because I promised myself that the next time I went to my favorite Nevada town that, by golly, I would make a trip to see the dam. So, as we were enjoying the last rays of a gorgeous Nevada sunset, we started driving toward the dam:

 

This photo is just the beginning of the bridge spanning the canyon. The dam is off to the left and hidden behind some hills. Don't judge. It's the best picture I could get from our lookout point. 

The plus-sides of seeing it in the dark: 1) you don't have to pay any fees on those dumb new toll roads they recently put up because they're closed in the evenings, 2) no tourists to have to work around, and 3) driving at night is one of the best things in the world (it's so therapeutic and relaxing to me). And 4), this engineering feat is remarkable. I can't believe this was built in the 30's. People are so smart!

The down-sides of seeing it in the dark: 1) limited vision, and 2) a little miss cranky-pants who doesn't appreciate staying up late, even if she slept the entire time on the way there and most of the way back. Give a mom a break, would 'ya?

So, the deed is done. We've been to the Hoover Dam. My determination paid off, but it came at a high price and made for an awful drive back home. I'd love to take a tour of it one day, though, to appreciate all the intricacies and maybe with a kid who isn't overly tired and hangry and trying hard to be patient. Determination, turns out, can be a friend or foe. Just ask Macbeth.

In deciding if this was a successful example of determination or not...um, it's probably not. (Sorry little miss cranky-pants. Thanks for humoring me anyway.)

What about you? What things in your life recently have you exercised determination to complete, and was it worth it or not?

Rain in the Desert

If there's one thing that's as spectacular as rain in the mountains is rain in the desert:

 Life in the desert is fascinating. People don't realize how much life there is in such an environment...it may be swarthy and tough-as-nails life, but it's incredible nonetheless. There's nothing quite like the rainy season to bring out the best the desert has to offer.

I think the older I get the more the desert calls me. I might be part desert nomad, I feel so at home in the sandstone and hot air. I can manage a lot of different terrains and climates, but I feel most at home in snowy pine forests or scorching sandstone (funny, how different they are). 

What terrain do you feel most comfortable in?

Nature Photos Galore

My sister recently had a birthday. I know she loves nature and she needs that daily breath (or breaths!) of fresh air to keep happy, even in the winter. I wanted to do something to bring nature into her home a little more while also reminding her of the beautiful things that can be found in all seasons.

So, I printed up some of my favorite nature photos and placed them in collage frames for wall art:

Hopefully this reminds her of our beautiful family roots, the mountains, gorgeous nature, the memories built around those moments, and the joy it is to be outside.

Spending time outside and being in nature is important to our family, and we have reminders all throughout our house that keep us focused on that. What is important enough to your family that you have reminders for it?

Freezer Meals Fiasco

My sisters and I got together with my mama to make freezer meals, which is something we do about twice a year. What we do is dedicate an entire weekend only to making food, which we package and freeze for quick access when we may not have time to make everything fresh on the spot. It also helps us be prepared for delicious meals if anyone we know needs quick assistance with a meal. We're getting pretty good at it, but the sheer volume makes it feel like a fiasco:

(Yes, those are massive quantities of lasagna, granola, and chicken noodle soup. We 9x each recipe, to get enough for everyone who was helping out.)

Self-reliance rocks. It was a tremendous amount of work, but it's totally worth it for us. The tally for the weekend is as follows:

5 quarts of marinated teriyaki turkey
3 gallon bags of cinnamon rolls and 1 bag of cream cheese frosting
3 dozen muffins
6 quarts of chicken noodle soup
2 pans of mini cheddar meatloaf
4 quarts of sweet and sour chicken
6 quarts of broccoli soup
4 quarts of Hawaiian meatballs
9 quarts of granola
3 gallon bags of rolls
2 quarts of beef and broccoli
2 pans of sour cream potatoes
2 pans of lasagna
2 pans of enchiladas
2 pans of chicken cordon bleu and bags of sauce
4 quarts of hamburger soup

That's nearly 50 dishes for our family, and knowing that each of those can be used for at least two meals, I'm feeling pretty good about the amount of work that went into this. It's truly going to last our family all winter long.

This is not something that I could do on my own, but with the help of others, we accomplished a lot. What things in your life are best accomplished with a group instead of flying solo?

String Monogram

Little "Beebee Eenan" (according to our sprout) had his first birthday, and since he's happy as a clam eating cardboard or whatnot, I decided to give a birthday present to his Mama, to help her decorate his space:

I knew for a while that I wanted to do this for his birthday present but lost track of time and ended up making this late the night before. In my scrambling for supplies, I lucked out and found a piece of scrap wood in our garage that was left from the previous residents. (Thanks, old people!) I took care of the spider webs and gave the newly washed piece of wood a good coat of acrylic paint. While the paint was drying, I drew a monogram E on graph paper, and cut it out, which worked out great for nailing. I just laid the letter down on the wood and put in a nail every 1/2" along the outside edge of the cut-out letter and removed it once all the nails were placed. Then, with my lifetime supply of baker's twine, I tightly wound the string around the nails. This is a single piece of string, I'll have you know.

My grandma taught me how to make hot pads with yarn using a similar technique, but I had forgotten about it until I saw something on Pinterest. This is a little more chaotic in my string usage. There are no specific patterns with the string, I just filled it in until all the blank spots were covered.

It was much easier than it looks. The most time-consuming part was nailing those little suckers. That being said, I wasn't disillusioned at the amount of time that it was going to take. It probably took me 3 hours total, including painting, nailing and stringing. Not too bad, I think.

So, what have you done of late that is much easier than it looks?

To Kill a Mockingbird

So, we read To Kill a Mockingbird for our literary discussion group recently:

This is one book that I will read over and over in my lifetime, it's that good. I've read this several times since I've been in middle school, and each time I find something else that stands out to me. This time around, the statements about gender roles really hit the mark.

There's a lot of talk about what it means to be a lady or a gentleman, or who is acting like a girl. As the children get older, they try and find a balance between gender equality and being polite or fitting in with the rest of their society, which is strictly defined by gender. It is interesting to see the wisdom of both the children and Atticus regarding this issue.

There are so many major themes that Lee addresses that this novel can be read with multiple critical perspectives. This time I analyzed the novel from a feminist perspective. What stood out to you the last time you read this classic?