Family Archives

Father’s Day … Dad Was Right!

June 15, 2025May 28, 2025Posted in adventure travel, blogging, Travel, writingTagged Family, travel2 Comments

My dad shared stories of adventures he and his college buddies had and his desire to do something different after teaching for decades. Dad was to retire at age 55 … I think even on his birthday! He told me the way to accomplish adventures, complete a career, and look forward to new happenings was to retire at age 55. Whoa! This required a major calculation on how to be fiscally ready at that age, and for years beyond, especially since I told my insurance guy I expected to live till age 94.

Every detail did not pan out as I planned and hoped. Life happens! And that’s been okay! I have been fortunate to share a life with a good person, travel the world, enjoy my family and friends and remain healthy. My wants are simple so I can live within my budget. Life is about living, and I intend to do just that!

Dad was right. And new happenings are each day. I have the opportunity to choose a journey on the road or enjoy my own backyard. Thanks Dad for the advice! I am forever grateful and glad I listened!

NY Family and Friend Time

June 1, 2025June 3, 2025Posted in Animals, Artwork, blogging, Travel, writingTagged Family, travelLeave a comment

When I travel toward the east coast, I am looking for new places to explore and then to finally land a visit with family and friends. I love being on the move seeing new things and looking for new birds for my eBird life list.

I did arrive at one my sister’s home. She has alpacas. Unfortunately the weather was not to cooperate for a good shearing day while I was visiting. It would have been interesting to see the process … but rain forced a reschedule with the shearers. I know it is a tremendous amount of work and wet alpaca fiber would be a nightmare. My sisters also have their usual cats and dogs animals, but the latest addition is this energetic puppy:

Eyes are under the bangs of this energetic dog!

Always fun to visit with my sisters, a brother-in-law, and a long time friend who joined us for dinner. So many things to talk about! Where do the years go? Who can remember all the activities we did while also working full-time? Are we all enjoying retirement and how do we each do it? Lots of discussion.

While visiting my mom, there also were many things to talk about. Older citizens have a perspective worth listening to and discussing as we look to the future. My mom was a traveler in her younger days and we always count the number of countries outside of the USA that we have visited. Maybe I just edged her out this year. It fascinates me to see that my mom loves mountaineering films. Now she has to watch Free Solo! I met up with neighbors and my mom’s friends; also enjoyed some meals out. Appreciated a visit from a nephew. I was also encouraging my mom to view You Tube art lessons. We watched this video probably four times and then saw this basic instruction to draw a rose:

I’ll continue my travel and visit other friends in upstate NY before I head to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Miles to go before I sleep or head home.

A Day with Kichwa People in Ecuador

March 13, 2025February 28, 2025Posted in blogging, environment, Italy, Plants, TravelTagged Ecuador, environment, Family, food, travelLeave a comment

After our school visit we stopped along the Napo River to visit with one of the 40 Kichwa families. Our hosts showed us their garden where they grow many fruits and vegetables. I learned how to plant yucca once the grown ones are collected for a meal. (Put the yucca stalk into the ground at a 45 degree angle, then cover the stalk with soil.) Some of the plants grown here are for medicinal purposes. The children, in the family we had lunch with, walk a half hour to school each day.

The women showed us how catfish is folded into gigantic green leaves of the bijao plant and put on the fire to cook. We also tried some beetle larvae … head squished off … the insides of the body can be eaten raw, but we chose to let the rest of the body to be grilled first. The first person eating the grilled beetle larvae announced it tastes like bacon. Yes in some ways it did! Our lunch included plantains, yucca and catfish… all eaten with our fingers. A delicious meal with tea.

We had a chance to use a traditional blowgun. The poisoned dart, only lethal to small animals, was more difficult to use than it looked. A couple of people hit the target! We had some discussion about the oil and timber companies deforesting the Amazon. We saw the natural gas flames across the river from where we are staying at an eco-lodge. The Kichwa families are raising chickens and turned to ecotourism as a way to supplement their subsistence economy.

Here are some photos from that family visit:

Catfish pieces onto the leaf, then wrapped

Lunch: catfish, yucca and plantain… all eaten with your fingers

Memories ARE Wonderful!

January 19, 2025December 31, 2024Posted in blogging, writingTagged Family, friendship, love1 Comment

Last week would have been my dad’s birthday! Last month I would have been wishing my best friend and my dad every happy holiday in that month! But they are not here to share and enjoy the celebrations with me and my family. It makes me sad!

I don’t want to be sad. It just happens. I had the support and unconditional love from both my dad and best friend. I was fortunate. I was appreciative of them. One cannot help but wonder how things would be if they were both still here. I also always hope they knew how much each was loved … and not just by me, but so many family and friends!

Death is so darn permanent, but memories are not! I hold many memories!

Recently I was thinking how my dad would discuss with me how I should tackle a rusty gate at my home. We would also bemoan the Homeowner’s Association needing to report “rust on a gate” to me, like I hadn’t noticed it. Do we really think it dropped my house-selling value? And now I wait for the right air temperature during winter to paint the gate … I mean really !??!

Whenever I take a walk/hike, memories of my best friend flood into my head. The joy was our discussion of everything! For forty years we talked about so many topics I cannot think of one we did not talk about! Nowadays we are guarded, yet that was never the case with my best friend.

I know this next statement may strike you strange, but sometimes we still do talk! I can picture my dad and friend, each standing alone, and sometimes standing together, as they had done at various times through the years, as we talk. I ask my dad, what would he do in a particular situation and I ask my friend, what does she think about such-and-such. Memories seem to flood into my head and help me think what each might say to me. They were always kind. They usually asked questions of me so that I may actually solve my own issue. Interesting how that process seems to continue even as I talk with them now.

I love memories and will hold them dear forever! Thank you dad and best friend!

Family and Friends Interact With Animals

July 14, 2024June 22, 2024Posted in Animals, blogging, environment, wildlifeTagged animals, Family, friendsLeave a comment

I love visiting family and friends. Yet despite my best efforts, I never see everyone when I travel to the east coast. It was great fun though seeing everyone I could and their interactions with various animals, beyond their usual cat and/or dog.

Observing birds, such as the common eider; a new bird for my life list. Videos from a trail camera of woodchucks, fox, black bears, deer and others in the local woods where family members live. As I slept in my van, I wondered and listened in case any of those critters walked by while I slept. A sighting of a turtle; then a video of it digging a hole to lay its eggs the next day along my sister’s driveway! Helping to complete alpaca care with another sister … her labor of love for 30 plus alpacas is huge as I could only help in a small way with water in buckets and scooping poop. A neighbor shared information about her peacocks as we observed them in her backyard. I watched as a friend solved a bull’s dilemma in needing to get its head out of its hay feeder. Never a dull moment, even as I watched a spider capture other insects in its web!

Of course, it was wonderful to see everyone. I also love seeing life in its various forms and activities. Here are a few photos as I continue to keep my eyes open during my travel.

Pull feeder back & bull worked its head out!

Latest news: there are many more bears in the area, plus coyotes! The bears however are causing havoc with garbage containers of all size. One bear is huge in size, another yearling is causing the most headaches for all and another bear has 3 young cubs. Wow ….

North Carolina Family Visit & Van Repair

June 23, 2024June 22, 2024Posted in Animals, Birds, blogging, Travel, writingTagged FamilyLeave a comment

Arriving in North Carolina was a welcomed relief! Visiting with family members I do not see very often is always fun. Unfortunately though, they were also busy attending school or work. I am fortunate enough to see those days in a rearview mirror as a retired person!

My sister did take a day off from work. With her help we added another layer of silicone on the front cab lights. No way was I going to have any leak from those lights between now and arriving home in a month!

We enjoyed a walk at Crabtree Creek Trail in Raleigh. Plenty of turtles and some birds were seen. The most exciting was a red-tailed hawk fledgling. Another birder happened to tell us the nest location. There was the fledgling standing at the nest’s edge! About 10 minutes later we returned to look again and show another birder the nest and fledgling, yet the bird was not in sight! I don’t think it flew. I think it was behind the sycamore tree trunk and just out of sight at that moment. Of course, I wished I had my camera with a long lens …. Darn!

A few great blue herons were closer to me to photograph!

We enjoyed lunch and time together. Another discovery, leftover Indian food gets spicier … what was a spicy 2 when first eaten was spicier the next day, but still delicious!

The next day my van was repaired. A back cab light was ordered after the Oklahoma tornado incident and this North Carolina dealership was the only one with the part. Good thing Raleigh was on my itinerary! Now the only repairs to do when I return home: replace passenger side mirror, fix scratches and dents. I truly am so fortunate to have moved the van per my host’s recommendation. My van would have been totaled during the tornado if I had not. Instead, the tree came down parallel to the side of the van and not through the windshield and motor!

Family Time!

June 15, 2023June 10, 2023Posted in blogging, Travel, writingTagged Family1 Comment

My family was meeting in PA to spend time together. In a previous week I visited with my mom and now how wonderful for her to join us all in PA. Besides relaxing, eating, drinking and being sure the alpacas were cared for by us or others, we decided to take on a few special activities.

Day trip:

Visited High Point Monument in New Jersey. I first heard of the place from one sister and recognized it when I read Grandma Gatewood’s Walk book. Grandma Gatewood hiked the Appalachian Trail in the Delaware Water Gap area her first time in 1955 and mentions this high point at 1803 feet above sea level with its good views. The monument is a veteran’s memorial commemorating all veterans of all wars. While there I did see a new bird: a prairie warbler! We stopped at a winery and another place for dinner. It was a good day.

Prairie warbler, bird was a distance away and photo taken with iPhone.

Another day: None of my sisters or myself wanted to see animals in cages, so we went to a wildlife and safari park, called “The Preserve“, in Harpursville, New York. This place has 100 acres of land where we could drive through and feed the animals. Specific directions were given on how to and what to feed the animals. I found the emus the most aggressive animal! It was fascinating to visit here! Stopped at a brewery after all that fun!

Of course, the low key social family time is fun, but we had a competitive moment while I introduced my sisters to pickleball at a local park. Our tennis swings wanted to really take over which screwed up the pickleball swing. In time though each may find the game fun.

Always fun to stay connected with my family. My parents raised four very independent individuals. It is always interesting to see what each is up to each year and to actually spend time together. It was fun!