Introducing…

Well, it was quite a day.  After years of saying “I want a dog,” we actually got one.  We visited the Table Mountain Animal Shelter last Saturday (in honor of my birthday) and saw three dogs we really liked.  We went back on Sunday and two of the dogs had been adopted and the third was on ‘hold.’  We didn’t even get a chance to get acquainted with the third one, a stray whom the shelter had named Herbert.

During the week, John kept an eye on the website and by Thursday evening, Herbert was no longer ‘on hold.’  After he finished his volunteer morning at NREL, John drove to Table Mountain Shelter and was told that the German shepard/chow mix male dog was available.  He paid the fee and immediately went to PetSmart and loaded up on supplies.  This morning about 10:30, we drove over and picked him up…and immediately called him Ranger.

Ranger is about 4 years old and medium size.  He seems to do well with the head collar and likes to walk around in our backyard.  Right now, as I type, he is lying on his pillow on the floor of the home office.  He’s really a very sweet dog.  Very soon, we will go to obedience school so we know how to act around him…and he will build his confidence in no time.  I think he’ll be very happy here.

East Coast vs West

Until July 2007, I had lived every single day of my life in the South, never residing above the Mason Dixon line….rarely even vacationing above it! I was born in the South and love it dearly.  But living in the West (Colorado) is truly different…invigorating, freeing, challening in a broaden-my-horizons way, and just generally exciting and enriching.  But after nearly a year, I am still noticing the differences between East coast clothes and Western clothes…noticing it the way you might notice the difference between a day in Miami and the same day in Vermont.

This morning at yoga, I had on a T-shirt given to me by work friends when I retired from my job in Cary NC.  The words on the front of the pink shirt are “Bless Yer Heart.”  Now, in the South, the expression “bless your heart” is often followed by an insult……”Bless your heart, those slacks you have on, the store didn’t have them in your size?”  So in the South, at least one person in my yoga class would sort of snicker at the T-shirt.  But today not one soul mentioned.  I had the distinct feeling that one or two noticed it and wanted to ask “What does that say?” but maybe timidity held them back.  ” Bless yer heart, cain’t you all read?”….ok, I thought that but I did not say it.  I am, now that I live in the West, trying to fit in!  Bless my heart.

Earth Day?

Why do we just have Earth DAY? Don’t we live on the earth every day? Don’t we want to contribute to it’s longevity every day…not just one day a year?  I watched Oprah (tivo) and she had Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock on to talk about what they do to help the environment.  Then she brought out Al Gore, one of my personal heroes.  I kept wondering why Oprah didn’t have ordinary people like me on her show …individuals who endeavor in every way to help the environment.  www.ScrappyBags.net is certainly one of my efforts…so is composting, using only the water I need (I don’t just love grassy lawns that soak up the H20) and recycling everything including my shopping lists.

I think I may have to send an email to the producers of the Big O….maybe I’ll be on the Earth Day show in 2009.  And I’ll get to meet Al Gore!  Maybe he and Tipper want a Scrappy Bag or two to take with them to the local grocery store!

Fun Arriving

Yesterday, a box of fabric arrived…sent from my friend Betty H in Raleigh.  And today, two large boxes of fabric and notions arrived….from The Scrap Exchange in Durham!  Opening the boxes and going through each piece, fingering the texture, estimating the size bag that will result…well, it was like Christmas!  Last week, I bought a new-to-me Viking 435 sewing machine.  It has an accessible arm which makes bag sewing easier and does fancy stitiching.  I’m keeping my 1972 Kenmore which made the first 100 Scrappy Bags but a new era is beginning!

If you live anywhere near Durham NC, you should visit The Scrap Exchange…one of the most fun places on earth.  Without The Scrap Exchange, Scrappy Bags would never have come into existance.

Off to the sewing room!  www.ScrappyBags.net

 

Final Four

Doug Hale called from California to ask if I was watching the ball game.  “No,” I said, “I watched last night and it was so sad that UNC lost.”  “Well, it’s a good game,” he said.  So we hung up and I turned on the game.  I picked Kansas to win but Memphis put on a good show and after tying it up, the game went into overtime and the Jayhawks won.

I started thinking that I have been watching ACC/NCAA basketball for 40 years.  I remember David Thompson, Tommy Burleson, Sidney Lowe and Monty Towe -the latter two are now coaches at NC State.  In 1985 or 86, Luther and Cheray Hodges took us to see NCState play Carolina in College Park, MD.  I don’t remember who won but being in the same stadium with Jim Valvano and Dean Smith was a thrill.  And yes, Jimmy V was just as electric and flambouyant as you think he was.  In 1995 or 96, daughter Mary was working in Charlotte and won two tickets to one of the final ACC games.  She was sweet enough to invite her mom and I drove 8 hours from No Virginia to Charlotte, spent the night, got up and drove to Greensboro where we watched almost 8 hours of basketball, drove back to Charlotte and slept 8 hours and then drove 8 hours back home.  I can’t recall which teams were playing but the thrill of being there in person is a treasured memory.

Anyway, Doug was right…tonight was a good game….and Kansas is the NCAA champion for 2008.

Quakers in Costa Rica

Ok, I had no idea that US Quakers had settled in part of Costa Rica.  When we arrived in Monteverde, we stayed at the El Establo (The Stable) which is made up of buildings built going up the hillside.  Martha Campbell presented a fascinating slide show in which she talked about how in 1952, her parents and other families decided to leave the USA due to the draft; they were consciencious objectors and opposed to the Korean Conflict and Costa Rica had abolished its army in 1948.  So they drove from the US to Monteverde, Costa Rica…the PanAmerican Highway did not really exist and she talked about tires mired in mud and how the families then tamed the wilderness to build homes, schools and common buildings where they held their worship services.  Ms.Campbell is the daughter of one of the original couples, leaders in the settlement, and she married a Costa Rican and said she has not visited the US and has no desire to do so.  Her sister helped start the hotel and still works parttime at the Reception Desk.  I was fascinated….imagine the courage of those women! 

The Elusive Quetzal

As we entered the Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, we saw the elusive quetzal – beautiful bird with green feathers….he accommodatingly moved his head to the beat of our “ooohs” and “aaahs.”  We spent the night at Eco Lodge nearby and met our own personal gecko.  Our room was basic but comfortable and overlooked an almost moor-like area where the wind howled.  Beyond that, was Arenal the active volcano of Costa Rica.

During our three nights at the Eco Lodge, our gecko stayed in our room despite our efforts to invite him outside.  Finally, we took his photo…he was part of the atmosphere.  We also saw red rumped tanagers (no, really, that’s their name) and piliated woodpeckers.  The male tanagers have a black body with bright scarlet rump and lower back.  Editorial comment:  I find it interesting that birds are the only species where the male is more attractive than the female!  Canna lillies, clematis flowers that look like orchids, impatients and bromiliads grow beautifully wild.  We took a nature walk one day and visited a thatched roof structure and heard Maleku Indians (one of the indigenous tribes of Costa Rica) talk about preserving their history and language.  Years ago, the Nicaraguans tried to wipe out the Maleku and their numbers dwindled to 250.  Now the young people attend college and make every effort to educate themselves for this century as well as educate themselves in their own language and culture.  Very interesting.

During our visit, we also saw and photographed toucans, the northern jacana, the mot mot and lots of etherial looking hummingbirds.  We saw and heard howler monkeys and saw sloths and iguanas.  On a river raft ride, we saw crocodiles…that’s as close as I want to get.

 

 

March 20 – San Jose

We arived in Costa Rica late last night…had to be re-routed through Mexico City due to bad weather in Dallas….got to the hotel about 12:15 p.m.  Olman, our guide through OAT, met us at the desk and said, “Have your cases out by 7 a.m., eat breakfast and we’ll get on the bus.”  Our room was on the second floor overlooking the street and overhearing all the street noises….all night long.  But we made the schedule and as we rode out of San Jose on the bus, all the billboards advertised “Smashing Pumpkins coming to San Jose” and “Duran Duran coming to San Jose.”  My children would be so happy.