Amazing Day #18: THAT bookstore!

19 Beautiful Bookstores you need to visit in America
That was one of the first things I saw when I got on line this morning.
I love those lists - so I couldn't help clicking on this one and wondering if it might include Bart's Books in Ojai, CA.
Sure enough; there it is at the Number One position!  
I was kinda' geeked about that.  

Because you see...

Once upon a time a long, long time ago...

Well, it was actually in 2014.
We were work-camping at a little county park in southern California and living in our RV.  My bro and SIL lived nearby and we had made plans that she would come to pick me up the next morning for a fun outing to the lovely mountain town of Ojai.  She had mentioned that there was a really cool bookstore that I might like.  

Well, then, that evening just before heading to bed, one of THOSE lists popped up online - the best bookstores in the world or some such claim.  Of course, I opened it up and there it was!  Bart's Books!  I was so pumped because I was going there THE NEXT DAY!!!

So off we went up into the mountains...  

It really is a wonderful place.  At the time we were there they were gearing up to celebrate their 50th anniversary. 

The story goes that this guy started selling books on his porch and then in one room of his house...

...and then another and then outside on the patio and then in the garage - not necessarily in that order.  

Sure enough the former kitchen was full of cookbooks - both new and old.




I LOVED it!  

I had so much fun wandering through the different rooms of the house and then the patios and beyond.  What an astonishing place!!!

So when this article popped up this morning and took me back to that day, I began to wonder if I could find the pics I took.  




Unfortunately my photo files are in a horrible mess so I figured the chances were slim.  I searched one place and then another. And then...  
Success!  
Now THAT's amazing!!!

Once again I feel so incredibly grateful for the opportunities I've had.  
Yes, I realize that bookstores don't excite everybody like they do me.  
But I do love bookstores and I do love lists like this.
And I do love the little trip down memory lane today.
An amazing journey it is!

Looking back: One year ago

Chapter One: Southern California

It was just one year ago today that we turned the page ending Chapter One of our life in this rig. This cozy little spot. Our new place of abode. This little space where we've lived for over twelve months now.

Bob had come to the end of his first work-camping commitment. Life in the Santa Clarita Valley was good. The little town of Fillmore, California, was a fun place to land for five months. The lovely fertile valley is such a contrast to the surrounding drought-stricken area. What fun to live and work and walk among the groves of oranges and avocados. We were intrigued by the history and culture of our quaint little town, but also thrilled to be near the ocean and near some of our family as well. We wished to be even closer - both to the shore and to the kids, but what a blessing to at least be involved in their lives a bit. 

Our new life on the road was off to a good start. Chapter One had been good. We were grateful for the opportunities of the previous months and excited for the journey ahead. As we turned the page from our time in southern California we also turned the corner to head north up the West Coast for Chapter Two: the highway to Alaska.
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And now a year later, I notice a bit of irony.  Something different between last year and this year. Last year on this date, we were glad to be done with the five-month stint that had kept us tied down in one spot. We were getting antsy. Ready to be on the move. When campers pulled out from Kenney Grove after camping for a few days, we began to wish that we could hitch up and join them.

This year is almost the opposite. Since we seem to be still recovering from the winter and spring in the South and up the East Coast we are pretty content to stay put for the next few months. When the Memorial Weekend crowd started to thin out earlier this week and the campground emptied out, we grinned at each other as we noticed how quiet it was. This time we are feeling glad that we get to stay put.

Travels with Steinbeck

John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley has been an inspiration to us in our own travels. A couple days ago we were able to visit the area where Steinbeck grew up and which became the backdrop for much of his writing.


Read some of my thoughts on that visit on the travel blog.

Camping on the Pacific Coast Highway

 

 What a cool place to camp! On our right side is the ocean and on the left is the Pacific Coast Highway - just inches away. So close that passing trucks cause this rig to sway like crazy. Actually even a small car going by gives us some pretty good sway. Basically we are parked on the shoulder of the road - albeit a nice super wide shoulder with painted lines to mark the parking/camping spots. Our rig fits site #56 perfectly without having to unhitch - with barely inches to spare. The front bumper of the truck is about two inches from the line and the spare tire on the back of the trailer might be hanging over the line by an inch. Just a few feet beyond and above the road are the railroad tracks - where Amtrak trains come by every so often. Above the railroad a few hundred feet is the busy traffic of the 101 - the major thoroughfare between west Los Angeles and San Francisco. How cool to have most of the traffic sounds drowned out by the sound of the surf.

 

 

For the five months we have lived here in southern California, we have been fascinated by this phenomenon of campers lined up for miles along the PCH and have wished we could join them. Well, now here we are! Yet another unexpected gift!

Life on the road: Five months, two years

Milestones:
Two years since we moved out of the big house
Five months since we hit the road

Location: Kenney Grove Park, Fillmore, CA. Our last morning here. Heading out this afternoon. Gonna' hit the road again with a long journey ahead of us.

Outside: mid-50s, foggy, almost drizzling earlier; sunny now

Hubby is: finishing one last job in the park and then we hitch up

Recent happenings: I've been celebrating the month of May with lots of fun stuff. On purpose. Because I knew I might struggle with being away from Michigan in May. It has been good. Fun times.

Surprises: This place has held some surprises for me - mostly fun ones. Interesting ones.

Made me happy: Facetime with grands last night. Hearing little guy say "I wuv oo, Gumba."

Makes me sad: Not being around to help while he has surgery and after

Noticed: It is lots easier to pack for a big trip when you don't have to move from one "home" to another. When most of your stuff is already stowed away where it belongs.

Blessings: This rig and this place

Accomplishments: Cleaned out the shed, sorted through our books and packed them away for travel, all kinds of other sorting and stowing

Working on: securing things for travel

Considering: which new notebook to christen as my official writing notebook for this journey

Lessons: Life is simpler with fewer things. Less stuff. Yep, yep.

Looking forward to: watching the sun set over the ocean tonight and falling asleep to the sound of the waves

 

Feeling ready?

We leave THIS WEEK!  In four days!

Do we feel ready? What a loaded question - simply because there are so many facets to being ready in this case - so I guess there are several answers.

YES, we are ready to hit the road. Bob is ready to be done working. We are ready to see new country and to feel the open road.

I keep asking myself if I'm ready to be done living in this valley - and I do feel nostalgic about it. There are things that I had wanted to do - even things that I thought I would do every week - that just haven't happened. There are museums I haven't visited. There are restaurants we haven't tried yet - and a bunch that I wanted to go to again! There are neighbors I have not returned to visit to practice my Spanish. AND I did not ride the train! The historic Fillmore Western train ride will have to wait for my next visit.

We really do love living in southern California and yes, we most definitely want to do it again. BUT we want to live closer to the coast the next time. We want to be close enough to the beach for daily walks and we would like to be closer to the kids. So we are doing some research of possible places to set up camp the next time.

And are we ready for the big trip? Are we prepared? In the past, getting ready for a big trip usually meant this huge checklist of preparation - packing decisions and actual physical packing. Well, this time it is different because there are few decisions and seemingly very little packing. The decisions have already been made about what to take because they are already with us. Things are already packed away where they belong - except for the things that we have allowed to pile up on the shelves in the little shed we have here. Yesterday we tackled that shed and got our stuff sorted and packed and stowed in the cargo hold.

Actually, since this is our first time to do this, we don't know exactly what preparations we need to be doing, but we will learn. Besides packing the cargo - which we did yesterday - there will be a certain amount of rearranging and securing things in cupboards and cabinets so they are safe to travel. There will be odds and ends the day before like folding up the lawn chairs and tables and packing them away. Then the last-minute things before unhooking the utilities and hitching up the truck - like making sure TV and computers are safely and securely stowed away and loose items are cleared off the countertops. And there's that one bin that tends to fly out of my closet on the road - that must have some new moorings - or maybe a new home.

Oh, yah, there is one other part of being ready and that is planning our route and our schedule - or deciding to let it be flexible and unplanned. In this case, we are doing a combination between planned and unplanned. For the first several days, we have a bit of a schedule to connect with people along the way up the coast - friends and family in northern California, Oregon, and Washington - so we will need to get to those places at certain times. But then once we cross into Canada, we don't have a schedule except for hoping to arrive in Alaska before summer solstice - which should  allow a fairly leisurely pace.

So are we feeling ready? Yep, I think so. Are we excited? Most definitely.

Fillmore surprises

Spent the afternoon in downtown Fillmore.

It was a chance to really introduce my SIL to our little town while also a chance for me to say "good-bye" to Fillmore for now. I took her to La Fondita, the little restaurant that we had visited our first week here. Good choice. Yummy drinks served in quart jars - hibiscus Jamaica and my favorite - horchata.

We roamed the downtown area. We planned to browse the railroad museum and the historical museum, but they were both closed - so instead we browsed numerous fun little shops. Much to my surprise, we discovered an antique shop located in two train cars. Talk about cramped quarters! We walked through the length of the two cars in astonishment at all the stuff displayed there.

I thought she would enjoy the Little Shoppe of Hoarders - which is full of vintage and novelty items. We discovered Fox and Hound Treasures and Antiques. Then the hunting and fishing store - where 6 large antique dolls greet customers from inside their glass display case - somehow looking out of place in their environment. There is the tack store - that sure enough has saddles and harnesses and saddle bags and blankets and all kinds of riding equipment along one side, but is also a furniture showroom. Elvis costume components show up among the cowboy boots leading to a Graceland corner in the back of the store. We stepped inside the tiny apothecary and breathed in the amazing smells while craning our necks to appreciate the amazingly ornate ceiling.

It seemed that every store held new surprises and tidbits of information about the history of the area. We learned that every building in town had been damaged in the '94 Northridge earthquake and have basically all been rebuilt. We really wished we could get into the vintage theater, but a placard on the front wall explains the mystery of why it is no longer being used for anything; it was constructed of unreinforced block and therefore unsafe in this earthquake prone area.

There's the teeny tiny boutique that opens into the itty bitty salon where I got my hair cut a couple months ago. There is the old hardware store that was established in 1919 and reminds me of Barden's Hardware back home in Kingston also owned by the third generation now. I wish we had checked there last week for our faucet replacement instead of driving to Lowe's in Ventura. Sure enough they had the same faucet - and for $11 less! How can they do that?!?

There's Eli's Discount with the odd assortment of novelty items at the front of the store and lots and lots of empty shelves at the back. There's Estrella Market and Central Market - where the shelves are filled with all kinds of Mexican food ingredients and household supplies and where one can refill your water bottles with pure water.

What a fascinating place - where surprises await behind every storefront.

Water - or lack thereof

Friends have been asking about the fires, the drought and the extreme heat - and about how we are doing.

Drought
I have been sad about the drought since we arrived. In so many places everything is so terribly brown and dry and picky and poky. The live oak leaves have sharp tips all around the leaves which are like needles when dry. I hate how the stick themselves to the bottom of our shoes to ride inside and then dislodge in the carpeting. Ouch!

I have longed to see and hear water rushing through the wash just below our campsite, but I guess I never will. There was rain one weekend in February with lots of mud and rushing water, but we missed it because we had flown back to Michigan for a few days. When we returned we were delighted to see the mountains greening up. That lovely green springtime lasted several weeks, but it seems that the mountains are looking brown again - back to normal, I guess.

Water usage
I love the fact that we live in a green valley, but I often puzzle about how they do it. I thought that there was a water ban across the state, so then how are people watering? I guess it makes sense for agriculture, but what about lawn sprinklers? Well, it turns out that there is a very extensive water recycling program which is the source of most of the water used for sprinkling lawns - and I suppose fields as well. There is still much more that I could learn about.

Fire danger

There have been at least two major fire areas during our time here - one near Rancho Cucamonga east of L.A. maybe a month ago and most recently around San Diego. Neither of those are near us, but the fire danger warnings are on high danger most of the time. A couple nights ago there were fires along the highway between here and Santa Paula - a pretty long stretch had been burned along the side of the road. Bob thinks that a car burned on the shoulder of the road and the fire spread in both directions.

Extreme heat

Last week brought 105-degree temperatures for four days in a row. That turns our little patio into 112 degrees and means that we do have to use the AC on those afternoons. However, we are surviving quite well. Historically I have not done well when temps hit the 90's back in Michigan, but because it is drier here, I am not minding it so terribly. True I do not sit out in the sun when it is this hot, but I am able to stay somewhat comfortable. We are fortunate to have a pavilion over our unit which protects us from the overhead sun. It is only when the sun hits the side of our rig and reflects the heat into our little yard that it goes so high out there. But yes, it is manageable.

Local reaction

The locals were shaking their heads about how hot it was last week and are expressing gratitude for it being cooler this week. Those along the coast where the temps are moderated by the ocean feel sorry for us who live inland - saying things like "You couldn't pay me enough to live where it gets that hot." As for the dangers, I guess most are them are interconnected: the drought, the fire danger, and the high temps brought in by the Santa Ana winds from the high desert that can quickly whip any little flame into a vicious wildfire.

These conditions still feel really sad to me, but for the locals they just seem to be facts of life - like March mud in Michigan or February snow and gray skies.

Does California have seasons?

Having lived my whole life in Michigan with its four distinct seasons, I may have had the impression that southern California had only one season - summer all the time. So I didn't know what to expect this spring; therefore I have been delighted by the sights and sounds and smells of spring.

Sure enough, things have been greening up around here. The grass at the park is looking good. As more leaves open up, the trees are getting thicker and the woods are filling in. We continue to be amazed at how green the mountains are getting. The orange blossoms are glorious. How cool to see orange trees bearing both mature oranges and blossoms at the same time. I didn't know they could do that.

One house on our street has a very cool flowering tree spilling over the fence onto the shoulder of the road.

The avocado trees are covered with huge bunches of blossoms and already seem loaded down - so it's hard to imagine how they will be able to carry the added weight of more fruit. No wonder the farmers prop up the branches with 2x4's! Rose bushes climb the chain-link fence to hide the avocado groves from sight.

And then there are the flowers! I was happy that were lots of flowers before, but I keep being surprised by new ones here and there. The red geraniums are multiplying and have now been joined by pink ones which were new to me.

Numerous clusters of ground cover produce a myriad of tiny delicate blossoms. Yesterday I learned that one type of "poor man's orchids" blossom for one day - and yes, I was introduced to them while they were blooming.

While talking about the sights of spring, I must include the small brilliantly orange bird that flew out of the orange grove this morning while I was walking past. I wonder what he is.

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Spring is not only to be seen, but can also be heard. Yes, there seem to be new sounds - although I am ignorant of the time table for all of the sounds around here. One of the first that I noticed this spring came from the bees. Oh, the buzzing of the bees. As I walk through the park I keep hearing the hum of yet another swarm of bees overhead in the live oak trees.

Besides the auditory signal of the bees' presence, there is also visual evidence of them as well. I don't know how the bees coordinate their schedule with our human calendar, but we are learning how to tell that it is "bee season" in the orange groves - when the white netting is put over the rows and rows of trees. Local growers have explained that they spread the nets to keep out the bees so they can produce seedless Clementines. Yum!

There seem to be more bird sounds recently although again I am not nearly an expert and struggle to identify bird calls. I do know there is one that for some reason makes me think of my grandson - maybe because I can imagine him mimicking it. There is even a rooster in at least one neighbor's yard to remind us of life in the Dominican Republic.

The soft swishing sound of windmills can hardly compete with the slightly louder synchronized whine of the fans in the ends of the rows and rows and rows of greenhouses.   In the quiet of the evening I often hear a familiar sound that is similar to those back home in Michigan - namely the low purr of tractors in the fields next door. A few small John Deere tractors are used in our neighborhood as well as an old Ford that reminds me of the one I learned to drive on.

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Yes, there are new sights and sounds that seem to have appeared this spring, and there are also new smells. Oh, the smells. Driving home from town is like stepping into a room where the wood has just been polished with orange oil, but oh, so much fresher and more wonderful. Naturally the smell was the strongest when the orange blossoms were in full bloom, but it continues. It is hard to identify the exact smells. Once in awhile I can isolate the eucalyptus and often catch the scent of mature oranges but mostly it is just this sweet tangy potpourri all the time. What a tantalizing aroma.

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Okay; I am convinced. California does have seasons, too. I love the fact that I can live this season of my life in such a place with delightful sights, sounds and smells of spring.

 

Typical Tuesday

So today is a fairly typical Tuesday. No big plans. No sightseeing today. No jaunt to the coast to hang out with family. No beach time. No eating out. Nothing too exciting. Just a typical day in a typical week. Just a normal work day. Just life.

As usual I got up early to write my 500 words before letting myself get distracted by the internet. As usual Bob got up and got ready for work. We had a typical breakfast of sausages and frozen waffles because we like those things. We wondered out loud whether we might want to add some additional selections to our typical breakfast menu options. Is it possible that we are tired of waffles one day and eggs and hash browns the next? Hey, we bought some cereal the other day so we'll be okay.

As usual Bob left for work and I did my normal morning routines: wash the dishes, clean the place up, walk a mile or so, take a shower. Sometimes the "normal" routine includes going into town to do laundry, to fill a propane tank, to get more fresh water, supplies or groceries. Sometimes I get my morning chores done before Bob gets home for lunch. Sometimes.

The afternoon involves more of our normal work - whatever that means. Often I wonder what exactly I have accomplished with my day. Yep, that sure sounds like real life! I've never been good at explaining my work to people - particularly at times when I'm not "gainfully employed." I often struggle with measuring my worth by my accomplishments. I have heard all the reminders that "being" matters more than doing. If only I could figure out what that looks like. But never mind that. My typical afternoon may involve time on my current WIP (work in progress) whether that is a writing project or research or some other ongoing task. Obviously I don't have my usual "sorting and pitching" tasks staring me in the face like I did at home because I did not bring those bins and boxes with me. However, there still seems to be sorting and pitching to do. Indeed vigilant de-cluttering is imperative when living in such small quarters.

Meanwhile a typical work day for Bob might mean trimming trees or repairing a golf cart or keeping the vintage trucks running. Those are the hours he works each week to earn our campsite. When he gets home from that job, he might take a power nap before starting in on office work or photo editing or some other project.

A typical Tuesday may or may not include sitting in the sun or maybe a bike ride for Bob - although that might sound too strenuous after running the chain saw all day - so it can wait for his day off.

A typical day for me also includes taking time to intentionally study Spanish. When we arrived here and discovered we are surrounded by Spanish, I decided to be intentional in my efforts to improve my fluency. A friend recommended a great app for my phone which leads me through the day's challenges. A small step, but at least a step.

I'm not sure we have such a thing as a typical week although lately Bob works Sunday noon to Thursday noon so Friday and Saturday become his weekend. By the way, he does get to do one of those touristy adventures this Friday - going out to the Channel Islands with the kids. Nope, I'm not going on that adventure - preferring to stay on solid ground.

But back to our typical day...

What to make for supper? We could warm up the leftover fried rice and chicken from last night. Or maybe we'll stir-fry something tonight. That used to be a typical practice for us at home and I don't think we've done that here yet. Maybe it's time.

And when our work is done or we run out of energy we'll settle in for a typical evening of reading and listening to music or watching a movie. But first I'll go check the mailbox because I think it's a movie night; in fact, maybe it's "Gravity" - the Oscar-nominated new release starring Sandra Bullock. Thank you, Netflix!

Yes, it is a typical Tuesday. A pretty normal day. A good day. I like my life. I am feeling grateful for my new normal. For good days. A good life. A good place to live and work. This place where we sleep and eat and breathe. Where we live and move and have our being. I do appreciate that we can live in sunny California... Except... Whoa! It's not sunny today! It's cloudy and downright chilly. Wait a minute! That is not typical. In fact, it might be the first day in our two months here to not see the sun.

Okay; I guess this is not a typical Tuesday after all.

Oh, well. The sun will come out tomorrow. I'm pretty sure.
 

A touch of patriotism

Remember when the Berlin wall came down? Remember being glued to our television sets watching the footage of East German young people scrambling to the top of that symbol of division and disunity while others worked with chisels and hammers to chip away at it? Remember the astonishing sight of guards standing by as spectators watching throngs of people stream through the gates?

I often heard people refer the fall of the Berlin wall as an event that is burned on our collective memory. But I don't remember that. I did not have those scenes in my memory bank because I didn't see that footage.

We were living overseas in November 1989 without television or radio. My husband was a teacher, I was the librarian and our kids were students in an English school in the Dominican Republic. We didn't feel isolated because we did have regular communication with friends and family back home, but somehow we had not heard anything about the fall of the Iron Curtain. It wasn't until several weeks later when the Time magazine arrived on my desk featuring one of the iconic Berlin Wall photos on the front cover. Rather shocking to see how the world had changed so drastically.

Today I had an opportunity to fill in some of the gaps in my memory of world history. We visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The first thing we saw (and photographed) was a piece of the Berlin Wall. I began to pay attention. Sure enough, there were video clips of the famous speech "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" as well as footage of the amazing days when the wall did indeed come down. I learned a lot today - about how some of the pieces fit together leading up to that phenomenon.

All through the museum, there were other fun and educational things. Highlights for me included being able to visit the Oval Office and to walk through Air Force One. Oh, and I finally got to learn how in the world those teleprompter things work. That was kinda' cool.

It was a good day. An educational day. A patriotic day. A day of gratitude for freedom.

It did not need to be a day about politics. After the assassination attempt as the surgeon was about to remove the bullet from his brain, President Reagan quipped that he hoped the doctor was a Republican. The doctor quietly replied, "We are all Republicans today, Mr. President."

I like seeing people come together in compassion and hope and good-will. I am grateful to live in a world where that still happens. And I am inspired to do what I can to improve the chances of it happening more often.

On a mission

Over at Bob's travel page I wrote of our day at Old Mission Santa Barbara.
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Much of the California coastline is dotted with charming old missions that stand as monuments to the religious and cultural history of this region when it was still part of Mexico. One of the more beautiful and more famous ones, Old Mission Santa Barbara, is wonderfully restored and maintained.

I was enamored by the uneven tile floor full of dips and smooth worn edges, but still shiny as can be. Meanwhile, Bob was fascinated with architectural details like the awesome arches, magnificent doors, quaint windows, and walls that were more than three feet thick –  photographic opportunities galore.

* Read entire article here...

* See lots more pictures at Where the Robert Meets the Road

Melissa Gilbert and me: on beauty and wonder

Maybe I think of Melissa Gilbert as one of my girls. And maybe that's silly. But she was there in our home for several years - in her role as Laura on "Little House on the Prairie." You could say that our girls grew up with the Ingalls girls. I have such fond memories of them all hanging out together in our family room pretty much every day after school.

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One of the things I love about the internet is the opportunity to connect with old friends and in my case, connecting with my daughters' friends as well. Because they were special to my girls, many of them became special to me as well.

So while we never really knew Melissa Gilbert, I still find myself paying attention when I hear news about her. Just recently I discovered that she has moved to Howell, Michigan, one of the towns that we have been talking about as a possible place to re-settle. How cool is that!

I kinda' relish the irony that she moved to Michigan after living in southern California her entire life just before I moved to southern California after living in Michigan my entire life. Of course, there are differences in our stories. For example, she is settling into a big old Victorian house and planning to stay there awhile, but I am in a little house on wheels because this is just a temporary camping site for me.

However, it seems that we have had similar reactions to our new surroundings. I have been enthralled by the beauty of my new area and feel almost giddy with excitement to have giant jade plants just outside my door and to be surrounded by mountains and palm trees and strawberry fields and huge orange groves and avocado plantations and to live so near the ocean. And where I can hear the whistle of the neat old historic train from where I sit and write. I wonder sometimes whether the locals ever tire of it and think it would be so sad if they do.

On her blog Melissa Gilbert shares similar thoughts and questions after an experience she had while adjusting to life in small-town Michigan.
Then something amazing happened! I was driving on I96 West, and I saw the most beautiful sight I've seen in a long time. The sun was rising behind me in a big orange ball and the land all around me was waking up. Before me there were stand of trees...wooded areas surrounding large open meadows and fields of crops. The sky above was a pale blue, dotted with perfectly painted white clouds. The clouds looked like someone had pulled cotton balls apart and swiped them across the sky. Over every meadow or field there was a mist...like an Irish mist...just hanging there.
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I was thunderstruck and immediately began to weep and I thought, "Does everyone on this highway see how beautiful this is? Do the Michiganders know what beauty there is to be found here? Or do they just drive their commute, not seeing any of it?"

I promised myself that I would never tire of the beauty that can be found here. Just as I've promised myself over and over that I'm not going to lose my excitement when I see fireflies in my gardenI hear you, Melissa. I appreciate your reminder about the beauty of Michigan. You are right that it is amazing. You are also right to realize how easy it is to get used to the familiar.

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I brought along a copy of Travels with Charley on this cross-country adventure of ours - and have just been re-reading it. Like Gilbert, author John Steinbeck lived in California when he was young and also shares some thoughts on this topic of beauty and wonder.
When we saw colored pictures of a Vermont autumn forest it was another fairy thing and we frankly didn't believe it. In school we memorized "Snowbound" and little poems about Old Jack Frost and his paintbrush, but the only thing Jack Frost did for us was put a thin skin of ice on the watering trough, and that rarely. To find not only that this bedlam of color was true but that the pictures were pale and inaccurate translations, was to me startling. I can't even imagine the forest colors when I am not seeing them. I wondered whether constant association could cause inattention, and asked a native New Hampshire woman about it. She said the autumn never failed to amaze her; to elate. "It is a glory," she said, "and can't be remembered, so that it always comes as a surprise." I love that. What a way to say it.

But now it is winter in Michigan. I mean, it is REALLY winter this year. I empathize with friends and family who have been trudging through the deep snow and sliding around on the ice. I admit that I almost feel like we have cheated by not being there for this brutal record-breakingly harsh winter.

What a winter for a California girl like Melissa Gilbert to be adjusting to Michigan! I just have to wonder if it reminds her of when she was growing up in Walnut Grove - when the Minnesota snow was up to the loft window of their "little house" on the prairie. Wait! Oh, yah, that was just pretend, wasn't it? Just a movie set. Okay, what I meant was... I wonder if it reminds her of when she was little and they were filming... Whatever. In another blog post, she does comment on her first Michigan winter.

Here's the thing about this winter. At least from where I...um...sit...
It's the worst winter the US has seen in 20 years.. BUT...I'm loving it because I know it will make spring that much more glorious. Then we'll have summer and then fall, which is breathtaking here and winter again. It fascinates and exhilarates me.

You see, I come from LA. Basically the weather is the same....ALL THE FREAKIN" TIME! It almost never changes. It's pretty but it gets boring. It really does. And the smog Oh my lord! If everyone in LA could spend one year living here, breathing this clean perfect air, they'd know the difference. ...

Perspective. Familiarity. Change.

Seasons. Beauty. Amazement. Awe.

Wonder.

Ah, wonder.

One month we have been here

Date: 2-9-14

Location: Kenney Grove Park, Fillmore, CA

Outside: 64 degrees on its way to 68 - or could we wish for 70?

Hubby is: reading in the recliner, enjoying his day off after a week of hard work

Things we like about living here: palm trees, mountains surrounding us, less than an hour to the ocean, being so close to town with lots of Mexican restaurants and markets, Greek food, a couple decent laundromats, several fast food places and a dozen donut shops!

Makes me sad: The bone-dry thirsty land across the region

Surprises: 

• Our valley is a green oasis in the midst of a drought-ridden American Southwest.
• HUGE jade plants and geraniums just outside our door and all kinds of cacti
• Being surrounded by Spanish everywhere.

...

One month it is.

A month is long enough to discover some things.

A month is long enough to bump up against irritations and annoyances and get really tired of less than convenient circumstances. Fortunately, there have been very few of those and we have been able to adjust and smooth out the wrinkles.

A month is also long enough to get a sense of whether you're going to be okay for the long haul. We are glad that we feel at home here - content and comfortable in our setting and optimistic about staying here for a few more months.

　

Thankful Thursday: RAIN!

It is raining!!!

Since we arrived here almost a month ago I have been so sad about the bone-dry conditions everywhere around - well, except for where hard-earned dollars pay for precious water to irrigate the fruit groves. I just keep hoping for rain. Today seemed like the first good chance of it. When I was out walking this morning, I met an older gentleman on his walk. We did the usual greetings about the beautiful day and that it looked like it might rain and how we hoped for that.

Sure enough; it is raining. I mean, it is actually raining. Not just misty but real rain that we can actually see dropping from the sky. We can even hear it raining - which is a first.

It is so glorious to see the leaves all wet and drippy. Oh, that it would keep on coming. Enough to really make a difference. It would be so exciting to see actual water in the ditches. Wouldn't it be amazing if we can see the Sespe River with water where there is only stone and sand now?

...

And now it seems to be stopping.  So sad.  I guess we won't see any gushing rivers from this shower.   I will be thankful for what we get and I have no doubt that the parched ground will soak up every precious drop that falls.