Something is Missing…...

We'd only been in our house in Bay View for a few days when I took my first walk to the Lake. I was walking back to our house, coming down Delaware Avenue when suddenly, from a small alleyway between two houses, a fox stepped into view. She/he was beautiful….looked at me for a moment, and continued on her way.

Over the next few years we saw him/her many, many times….sometimes sitting on the sidewalk running alongside Oklahoma Avenue, watching the traffic. Sometimes walking down another alleyway. One summer Sunday afternoon I was reading a book, sitting in a comfortable chair on our back yard patio, when I caught a movement out of the side of my eye. Looking up I saw the fox - she/he'd walked over our back steps and was right in the back yard. Mr./Mrs. Fox stopped, looked at me for a moment...both of us surprised…. but then continued right down the sidewalk through our yard and out to the driveway and was gone.

One time, when our two young grandsons were with us for pizza dinner, I glanced up and saw her/him sitting right on our front patio under the mailbox. By the time I tried to notify the boys….the fox was gone. Another time, leaving for work in the morning, I pulled out of the driveway, headed south toward Oklahoma and hit the brakes….the mom and two kits were crossing Pennsylvania right in front of me. Another glimpse of wild in the city. A nearby street even had a sign posted…."Caution: Fox Crossing"!

It's been at least a year or more since we last saw "our" fox. For some reason he/she is gone. My neighborhood friend told me that since we've begun to spot coyotes in the neighborhood we won't see any more foxes.

I miss her/him….I miss that glimpse of beautiful brown/orange and those alert ears and sharp eyes….I miss the quick connection between unexpected nature and me. I miss my fox.

Whap!

It's still quite cool here in Milwaukee, especially near Lake Michigan. The sun may be shining, but step outside and a cool breeze bites. Someone said there is still ice out in the Lake….therefore any wind blowing in from the southeast is going to be a cold wind.  But I bundle up and Fenway and I go for our morning walk anyway. As we approach the lakefront we see others out walking/jogging….some people with dogs, some without. Many are happily following "our" pathway…..so we continue.

All along the bluff at the Lake redwing blackbirds are busy building nests and laying their eggs. They chose trees and bushes growing on the hillside that drops away from the walking path. As we begin to go by they call….and call….and whistle….and watch us very carefully. They don't seem to be bothered by the others walking along, but they certainly watch us very closely.

Then, suddenly today, whap - one flies off the tree branch and smacks me right in the back of the head. And let me tell you, even though this is not a very large bird, you know it when they hit you in the head. I guess he/she thought we were just somehow a threat and coming too close to the nest.

This happened to me about this time of year last spring - so now I've learned my lesson.

I'm no dummy. Tomorrow, when we walk, we will be on the other side of the street and I am wearing a hat.

Heartstrings - How Far Can They Stretch?

I met Janie when we lived in New Castle, Delaware - at a Newcomers Club meeting in the 1990's. The group was touring one of the DuPont estates and there was "just something" that made me think….."Ahhh….I really like this woman and want to get to know her better."

And here we are some 20+ years later and that little "inner nudge" proved to be so very correct. We said, after beginning to explore our burgeoning friendship, that we "must have been sisters in another life". So many similarities, so much laughter, so much to talk about, so many almost-the-same memories…..yet so many interesting differences.

It was Janie and her husband, Phil, who are really responsible for the fact that we ever bought our first sailboat, and then traded up to the one we would live on for two years. It's their "fault" that we got crazy/brave enough to sell our house and most of our stuff and just take off on a two year adventure. (Their adventure was much bigger than ours - a circumnavigation of the globe that took over 15 years!) We met them and spent time on their sailboat, 'Tsolo, in the Exumas, the Virgin Islands and later sailed from Bonaire to Curacao for one short leg of their journey. They taught us to play dominoes in the cockpit, quietly rocking at anchor. Janie shared t-shirts with me when, on one trip, we met them at the boat and my suitcase spent that week in Pittsburgh.

When they were back in the States their home base was the Seattle area - so we'd try to connect while visiting our son and his family. Conversations picked right up where we left off - and my heart sister and I would laugh, hug, talk, weep…..just be together again for a little while.

Today we met them at the airport - they'd taken their last sail aboard 'Tsolo, bringing her from the Caribbean back to Annapolis where she is now for sale. This morning they flew in from Baltimore, making a quick stop-over in Milwaukee - time for coffee/hug/quick conversation.

It will have to be enough for awhile - their next adventure is the move they've made to Kenai, Alaska. Purchasing land. Building a new house. Moving even farther away.

I am so thankful I met Janie….she will always have a special place in my heart/memory/future. We may not see each other anywhere nearly as often as I would like….but she's out there. A phone call away. An email away. A FaceTime away…..too far away.

But our heartstrings can stretch…..watch them…..Wisconsin to Alaska. No problem.

That Wicked Sense of Humor

Dave's mom was probably the best mother-in-law I could ever imagine. She was lovely, caring, fun, interesting, enthusiastic, loving and had a wicked sense of humor.

The first time we met (while Dave and I were still in college) I was very "intimidated"….after all, she was a Wellesley grad, supporting herself and two sons as a very successful real estate agent after Dave's dad died and seemed so polished and sophisticated. She was from the EAST and could track the family tree back to John Alden and Priscilla on the Mayflower!

But I loved her son, and she loved him….and came to love me too. We never lived nearby, so our visits were usually timed to share a holiday or a long weekend. She traveled a lot after she re-married so sometimes we went to visit her in Florida. One thing everyone noticed about her was her intense interest in you as an individual. When she met someone for the first time they had her undivided attention - she zeroed in because she wanted to know them and they responded in kind. I always said she was "a people magnet".

As she aged she faced the challenges associated with macular degeneration. Had to give up reading her beloved books, so ordered books on tape. Could no longer do her beautiful needlepoint but played bridge for a long time with her friends, just using cards with bigger numbers. Could no longer drive so hired a driver. Couldn't see movies, but would sit in the front row for the symphony or a play with her "spy glasses" held up to her eyes taking in what she could.

When we would go for a visit she'd ask me to take her to the Hallmark store to read greeting cards. She always kept a selection in her drawer for any occasion but could no longer select them herself. So we would stand together and I would read card after card - her tradition was to only pick the most "wicked" ones as birthday cards for friends and for me. The "nastier" the better! Each year, when her card arrived in November I'd prepare myself - and laugh to see that it was one of the ones we'd found together. And I'd march off to the store to find one equally "nasty" to send her for her December birthday. We loved our "tradition".

I remembered all of this today while looking for a card to send. When she died I found her card stash and brought them home with me - I now send them to my best friends (but the pile is running out).  And the other wicked thing I treasure is drying in my dish rack.

One year for Christmas she bought me a spoon holder for the top of the stove. She'd found it at a gallery in Massachusetts. Can you see the center design?

It's road kill - a small frog. The artist pressed it into the clay, added the cane and there you go…an oddly silly image of a once-upon-a-time-frog who crossed the road at the wrong time. I'm the only one I know who has anything like this….wicked funny.

Time to Go Shopping?

Spring is finally arriving here in Milwaukee - although we "might" have snow on Monday???!!!  (If so I will shut the blinds and ignore it.)

Yesterday I was looking at some photos from past trips - we've had some wonderful travel experiences in the past few years, but as I watched the "slide show" on my computer I began to notice something rather repetitive. Dave and I do like to pack light, and usually travel just with a carry-on each. The t-shirts I take are casual, multi-purpose, don't wrinkle, can be layered and always go with jeans or khaki colors! Now I'm beginning to think it's time to refresh the wardrobe. The photos show, over and over, the same combinations and are becoming a bit "boring".

Thanksgiving 2011, Alaska 2012, France and Brugges 2013 never mind many weekend trips in between. Do you see it?  Time to clip a few coupons and head off to the department store.

I hope I like this year's "in colors"….if they don't work with jeans and khaki I'm in trouble!

Snirt is Losing! Spring is Winning!

After a quick weekend visit with my sister and brother-in-law in Chicago we drove home to a beautiful, sunny, not-so-windy 59 degree day! Wow!

Took Fenway to the Lake for a quick walk….then stopped to check our still-not-cleaned-up-flower-beds in the yard.


Tulips are trying in the back yard.


Small white and purple flowers are blooming in the side yard!



And the ever present pile of snirt near the fence is shrinking!!! It's almost gone.  Dare I hope we've seen the last of that white stuff…..or did I just jinx it?

Colorful Links…...

Dave keeps saying we need to purchase a new refrigerator. The one we have came with the house and must be at least twenty years old. I'm sure he's right when he says it's not efficient and we'd save money in the long run on electric bills. And I absolutely hate the fact that it is a side-by-side with a narrow freezer. It's so hard to fit real food in there!

But still…it's my gallery of memories. I'm a "throw-back" and still enjoy my refrigerator magnets. The ones we all seemed to have years ago when our kids were little and posting their latest school art work was just part of the decor. Now my magnets remind me of places we've been and hold up a few precious photographs….family members smiling at me as I open the refrigerator door.

My travel souvenirs are refrigerator magnets reminding me of Paris, New Mexico, buffalo herds in Yellowstone National Park, a trip to New Orleans, Williamsburg, Glacier National Park, snorkeling in Bonair, visiting Disney World, Seattle, Akumal Mexico, Maine, South Dakota, walking through New York City. Our trip to Bruges in Belgium, our time with the kids in Jackson Hole, our Alaska cruise and exploring Ireland with good friends. Every time I turn toward the refrigerator I'm reminded of just how fortunate I am to be able to have these memories of such good times and beautiful places.

I also like to buy the magnets that share quotes like: "One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." (A.A. Milne) or "It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years!" (Abe Lincoln) or "It is never too late to be what you might have been." (George Eliot) or "I understand the concepts of cooking and cleaning. Just not how they apply to me." (Anonymous!)

And two of my favorites: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." (Unknown) This one so perfectly captures our feelings as we decided to sell everything and live on our sailboat for two years - we didn't want to look back and say "I wish we'd done that!" Now we look back and say "I'm SO glad we did that!"

And on days I'm feeling a little down, I do take my cup of coffee, stand in front of the refrigerator and read the Apache blessing: "May the sun bring you new energy by day. May the moon softly restore you by night. May the rain wash away your worries. May the breeze blow new strength into your being. May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life."

So I guess I'll keep my old refrigerator for awhile longer - it's just a colorful part of my kitchen - part of my every-day-life and it does make me smile whenever I look at it.