Fires evacuees... and new housemates

Had a call from my much older sister yesterday (just joking!) (Six kids in the family, three sisters all born less than 2 years apart - at this stage, we are all the same age :) )

She and her 2 adult sons and their pets were in a line of cars snaking down the mountain from Lake Gregory. Asked me to sleuth out some motel options for them. She had done this before, so they had the drill down. Did not wait until the mandatory evacuation. Knew that insurance would pay for a room. Knew that motels book up. Knows that it might be weeks until things are sorted out up there and they are able to return to whatever is waiting for them. Has a good source of local information - NOT the sensationalist TV drama-ramas that are blasting the airwaves right now. Good girl. That's the way to take care of business and yourself.

Here is an email that she sent to her contact list today:
We are still very comfortable and happy that we are able to stay in an Inn instead of an evacuation shelter. I feel for those people over at the shelter in San Bernardino. And, our dogare happy. My rat terrier, Chloe, is at my sisters house being pampered. Rigly, Matt's dog, is being boarded at an Animal Hospital in Riverside. Yvonne is also caring for our Parrot, Anthony.

Today we had the bad news that several of Will's friends lost their homes in Running Springs. I am sad for them, especially Josh Switzer. I have attached a map showing where the fire is in relation to our home. We are about a block from Lake Gregory. We think that the fire is about a mile and a half from us (as the crow flies.)

I am continuing to get well and I appreciate your prayers. I am not anxious about our house, just happy that we are safe and comfortable. Pray for the firefighters who are working so hard all over Southern California....Take good care of yourselves."

Ahem. Pampering?
I think I need to paint Chloe's toenails or something. She is a sweet dog. And the parrot just sits in the cage and makes a little noise every know and then.

Why I Love Power Outages

No electricity means that kids emerge from their electronic music and/or gaming sessions to climb Pachappa Hill. If the outage lasts long enough, they raid the cupboard and play board games. They enjoyed themselves.
Hooray for simpler times.

(The puzzled expressions on some faces were in response to my statement "I want to take a picture for my blog" .... seems that not everyone in the younger generation knows what a blog is.)

22 hours

The vertigo was 22 hours by my reckoning, over 24 by Jeff's. Then it took a day to sleep and rest up and regain my balance. By Saturday night I was walking around normally and felt much better, and by late Sunday afternoon I could drive again. I'm still pretty tired out, just as you would be after having the flu for a number of days, and feel dizzy, but the confused feeling and memory loss is much better. My next doctor's appointment is Tuesday, so please pray about wisdom for the proper treatment. The next treatment that this doctor wishes to do will destroy the semicircular canals in my left ear permanently.

It's here again

I've refrained from making this a diary or an update of my health....has led me to realize that some don't understand what is going on. I don't share this so you'll feel sorry, because I'm not in bad shape. It's just a nuisance. This might be interesting for some folks to understand why I am off work when it seems that I am looking so very fine. Last night, for example, I was at church and saw someone from my school site who mentioned that how great I was looking, would I be back soon? I'll provide some details about my day for those of you who are interested.... (nothing gross or too personal), but I want to put this down while still capable of typing straight. I'll probably need to come back for serious editing later, since this silly affliction wreaks temporary havoc with my thinking.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a grand day. We will be having Rachel and some of her friends from college home Saturday evening for a home cooked meal and games. I'm looking forward to this, and trying to catch up a little on things around the house- and cleaned up one bathroom and the living room - even had Jacob around to help move furniture and do some heavy vacuuming and cobweb chasing. Not completely finished, but it looks so much better. Went to help with jr high (got there early since Jacob is working on a little video project which will be shown this weekend). Went to be early. I know that I was feeling great in terms of balance (was not using the walker) but my left ear felt very strange and I could not hear anything from it. There were more tinnitus sounds inside my head obscuring sounds that I could hear from my right side. When this is happening I usually just smile alot and do not participate in converstations - the constant need to ask for repeats drives me and those around me crazy :) .

This morning I dropped Jacob off and did some errands, picked Jacob up at lunch time and we visted my Dad in Magnolia convalescent. I mentioned to Jacob that I when I walk, the ground was shifting under me. He offered his arm for support, but things were not that bad. I was able to drive us home. By the time we go home and I walked to my bedroom, I was bumping into walls. Now I am on the couch. I can type one sentence at a time, then I need to close my eyes to rest them and refocus. When I open my eyes, the room spins for about a minute before settling down. I cannot walk - and if things progress as they have in the past, in a little while I will be in the middle of a full blown episode of vertigo. This means that the room constantly spins around me whether my eyes are open or closed. The last episode lasted from the time I woke up in the morning at 5:30 to when I went to sleep at 10:30 pm. Using the restroom is fun.... crawling if no one is around because I can't balance to walk, or if one of my big men is there, they half lean and carry me. Good thing my men are strong. Makes me sick to the stomach at times.

So that is why I can't be at work. Not safe at any speed. And takes a few days to get myself back in shape.

I spend the time listening to nice praise music or audio books and thanking God for the things he has blessed me with. The time to be with family and friends. Reflection time

That's all i can stand to type. It it now 2:25p.m We'll see how long this lasts.

Some facts....

Great posts about taking care of the environment! Here are some things to consider as we continue to care for the earth:

It takes about 35% less water to use the dishwasher than wash the dishes by hand. So do not feel guilty when washing a full load of un-rinsed dishes. (Of course, DO NOT stand there with a faucet of running water and pre-wash all of the dishes. Sheesh - that is why you are putting them in the dishwasher. Don't waste food by making too much and loading the plate too full and having to throw a bunch away in the first place, and if there is quite a bit of waste (like the watermelon rind corn cob stuff during the summer you should be putting that stuff in the yard waste bin or your own compost bin/pile).

And here is something easy - did you know that it takes less energy to bake with glass pans than with metal ones?

It is not that difficult to use cloth napkins. The key is to have napkin rings- a different one for each member of the family just like the historic use of the napkin ring. That way, one napkin can be used all day long (unless, of course, the mess is too great). This is one of the many things that my husband and I constantly quibble over. I love the cloth napkins, and he loves the el-cheapo recycled product paper napkins that stick to your fingers. It depends on who is setting the table and whether the laundry is up to date which one we use....I've kept my eyes open over the years at Target and other stores for the clearance clearance sales and pick up 8 or more when they are down to about a dollar a piece. If you keep a napkin ring for each member of the family, and make sure that the napkins are a variety of patterns which complement each other, all you need to do is toss them into the laundry. Not too much to do there. And they sure feel great.

My first mother-in-law was mother earth herself. Drip irrigation, compost pile, organic gardening, recycling, yada yada yada. My mom and dad taught us to do all sorts of environmentally friendly things because we could not afford to do otherwise (who in the world would have thrown away a paper towel when they could use cloth over and over again?) And my dad always told us that we did not own stock in the utility company. He also built one of the first methane digesters that anyone ever heard about from waste in our backyard, and was very pleased when I majored in Environmental Science, built a parabolic solar stove in college using grant funds, and had some other good times rallying around alternative fuels and other ec0-things back in the 70's.......) We only rode bicycles around the first 2 1/2 years of marriage (including when I was 8 months pregnant) because we had no car. Also took the bus to work. Whew. Three kids and many washers full of cloth diapers later, I've become a little lax. When our old faithful VW camper vanagon burned up, we bought a mini-van to schlep our kids and their friends around (and are very glad that we did that. Always had plenty of room, and the kids and their friends knew they could count on us for rides). Compost bin in the front yard hasn't been re-loaded in quite a while. I take the lazy way and just put things in the yard waste container. It still ends up as compost, I just don't use it as an amendment in my yard. And I don't like fluorescent lights in my bathroom- does everyone else really have them there? I've also been very involved in the community in environmental issues..... but that is another story. Right now, it seems like my heart is more into serving the people that are needy while I continue to try to not impact the earth unnecessarily. But just the fact that I had three kids instead of 2 means that I overstepped the limits of my replacement footprint here on earth. But I would not trade any of the three in to save the earth.

A box of love heading to New Mexico

My little blond guy on the left is turning 30 tomorrow.
I baked up a batch of brownies (triple chocolate) with peanut butter chips and sent them out via UPS 2 day to his office a couple of days ago.
We'd already showered him with a little birthday gifting...

I'd also sent him something else along the lines of what moms think of (no, not socks) because I'm a mom, and moms do that.

But I wanted to send him something that would smell a little like home and love.

So a box went out.

I love you, Jonathan. I'm proud of you. Happy Birthday!

I enjoyed baking for you, and thinking of raising you.

We had such interesting experiences- Amtrak trips across the country stopping at all the tall buildings as well as Glacier National Park and Seattle. (Do you think anyone other mother/son team in the U.S. has traveled as far on rails in in the last part of the 20th century?)
Trying to spot the LA Lakers in the airport but seeing the Celtics instead. Creating treasure hunts for your gifts. Going to watch the women's basketball game at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Watching you with the our first Macintosh computer way back in '86 (remember me getting freaked out by the loud noise that the floppy disk made when you shoved it into the slot? "Mom, that's what they are supposed to do") Me taking you to MacWorld Expo in SF back in 1988 and touring the exhibit halls together.
The time we went skiing for the first time on Christmas Eve. Shooting model rockets with Jeff. Sitting in the jacuzzi and watching the stars. Watching our favorite shows (TPIR and Little House on the Prairie). Buying the cello and taking you to concerts. Watching plays with you in them at Poly High. Going to the hill at UCR to eat dinner.
The times that you were so very ill (in the hospital with pneumonia in 6th grade, and with chicken pox in 8th).
We had a mixture of times in our life. Most of the hard times were (and are) much too difficult and personal to post on a blog for the whole world to read about. Wouldn't want to do that.
I love you and are glad that you are my son. I would not trade you for anyone else.
I wish you the very best for the next year.

Hope the brownies arrived in shape and that the love spilled out of the box!

Another blog action day, and so soon.

I wonder if these things make a difference. There is one coming up about the environment. I wonder if people will learn something new and then change behavior because of the blogging.
Did folks hear about this one back on September 27..... the challenge was "Bloggers Against Abuse" Did it have an impact?
Get out and take some action. Now, there's an idea.

Just in case anyone is interested in helping with our local environment on 10/13, we'll be doing some general cleanup in a very important area of our community from 8-10 am. And then you can head on over and drop off some sweaters and socks for some homeless folks. The nights are getting a little chilly.
Take some action! Help the world and... and don't forget some of the "least of these" who are in it.

Everybody loves their own kids.... so stop saying yours are the best.

There. Got that off my chest.

I've enjoyed looking at some photos from the last few years. Here are some recent ones from Cambodia.

Rachel was great in Cambodia.
She has a heart for kids. Spent so much time with the children in our group..... and she connected with the Kui kids in a way that the adults on our team did not - because we could not.
Here are Patrick, Jordan, Rachel, Austin, Colton, and Hailey at Angkor Wat.


Rachel tried fried tarantula
for a snack on her 19th birthday.

Yes! Fried Tarantula! No, the Lewis family members do not eat these every day.

We just happened to be traveling from the big city to the little village and stopped to have lunch.




















These lovely ladies are Jordan, Rachel, Hailey, and Jacqueline. Just having a little hairstyling fun in the bedroom. A little break from the morning of painting the medical building.

It was also a break from various other games that they played with the kids inside and outside. Uno. Phase 10. Catch Phrase.

Yes, I love my kids. I love Rachel for who she is. Caring, compassionate, with a heart for lost people. And she is willing to spent time with them, even when it is uncomfortable and hard to do that.
I love each of my children. As I am sure all bloggers do. So no need to say yours are better. We can all love our kids and see the good qualities in them. No shortage of time and space in our hearts to love kids. Our own and others. No limits.

Ode to My Necchi

Purchased for $35 in 1977 at a yard sale from a man whose wife was away for the day, this machine is a marvel. I was expecting my first child, and had thoughts of sitting at home with a child quietly playing at my feet. Said child would, of course, be happily playing for hours on end while I stitched up lovely little baby clothes and decorative items for home. (The second of six kids, how in the world did I have that picture in mind?)

My children have all had their turns sitting on my lap in of the machine (when they were young enough to be sleeping in a sling or old enough to know not to grab the knob or stick precious fingers in the fascinating needle). We’ve made projects together with it. An LA Fakers shirt for Jonathan. Matching dresses for Rachel and friends in elementary school. Costumes for history; sweatbands for mission trips, girl scouts, and the library. A toga for Jacob last year for the homecoming parade. I’ve mended and dreamed with the machine. I am so very glad that the kids did not play at my feet; it was much more rewarding to have them involved in the dreaming and making.

Current project: coverlet for bed using fabric from Cambodian trip.

Inside Joke....

Spied some candy at the checkout counter - it fit into the theme of our lives. I couldn't resist buying a couple.

Won't eat them because of the flavor (hey candy manufacturer- we love chocolate, but it can bring on an attack, or so they say. Mine are random.)

Jacob and Jeff also rented one of Alfred Hitchcock's classic movies for us recently. Trying to keep to the theme. My silly supportive guys. Gotta love them!


The movie was interesting, but did no justice to the title. Come on, Jimmy Stewart's attacks lasted only 10 seconds. Where's the fun in that?

Now I am expecting Jeff to find some old music to have on an endless loop..... something about "I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning...." I'm sure he just hasn't thought about it yet. We'll see what other clever things they cook up. Pinwheels? Hmm. My family can be creative.....
I'm waiting....

Trail Signs, and the man who is my hubster.

My wonderful hubster blazes trails for a living. Figures out where new ones should go. Helps find money to acquire property. Assists with design. Arranges for crews to help. Connects with community members. Gets the folks with bikes, horses, strollers, and running shoes to play nicely together.

When he goes to conferences, he sees signs.

I love my hubster.
He helps our world go around smoothly. He cares about people, our kids, and God. He has lived his life that way for our entire marriage. Always has been just as involved with parenting as I. Always wants to be the one to do things with and for me and the kids when things need to be done. When he has had to miss things because of work, he has truly felt bad. Hasn't used his job as a place to spend lots of time just to get away from home. Does just as much housework as I. (Probably more, since he is much more organized than I am about such things.) He has also encouraged me to try new things. He has never told me that I can't do anything. (Although he did think that I was kidding the first time that I mentioned the trip to Cambodia...... but he caught on quickly....). Sometimes I have had some ideas that we've kicked around and then we decided were not the best for us or me, but he has never said, No, you can't, just because I said so, or given some lame excuse. I'm very fortunate to have him. Blessed.

He loves me. Despite of who I am. He is awesome, and he is my hero.

BookArtRecycling

Another great way to recycle old books. But not for the common folk.

Artist Brian Dettmer uses books, cassette tapes, and maps to create works of art. Intricate. Ingenious. His works of art are displayed on a couple of art gallery websites:

KINZ, TILLOU + FEIGEN in New York

I also enjoyed the titles listed on the articles in the biography:
"Spine Surgery." " Cut to the chase." " Digging into a Good Book."