Great Blue

Yeah, I finally get to post a pic of the Great Blue Heron that I see almost daily on my walk around Merritt Lake here at Fort Leavenworth.

Isn't he something? Ain't he a beaut!? He cooperated so very nicely in August when I went down to the lake, without the dogs!
I made a special trip back down to the lake hoping to find him and capture him on film. It took several attempts, as I usually spot him when walking the dogs in the early morning or after dinner time. I would get home, leave the dogs, grab the camera and usually by the time I got back to the lake he would be done with his morning feeding and off to the river, I'm guessing.

Anyway, this morning in late August he was feeding around the edge of the lake and I just followed. I stayed well back and didn't seem to bother his searching for fish at all.

Hitting The Wall

This happened to me the last time we moved into a 4700 square foot home. I've hit the wall in home decorating. Actually, I'm hitting several blank white walls!

We did quite well the first couple of weeks. Ward unpacked the boxes and organized them so it should have been easy to put things up. But no, this is an over one hundred year old house and it's going to take some time to make it feel like a home. That's because we have a budget of course, but more than that, there are just too many huge areas of space to cover.

The dining room was the easiest. We have a fireplace and that's a great place to place a picture. Between windows, a built in china hutch and my own china hutch there's not too much empty wall space. But the kicker here is that there is a wall ledge that splits the room horizontally and it breaks too high to even place pictures on. Hmmmm?

The kitchen and dining room went together relatively simply with standard items, although I had to use sheers on the four large living room windows because the walls couldn't support anything heavier without major drywall repairs. Ouch! Not going there.

The real trouble I am having is with the bedrooms on the second floor. Two of those will be guest rooms. We placed single twin beds in each of those, and we had some furniture for one room. But they still look rather empty and cold.

That's really what "decorating" is all about. You want your home, not so much as a showcase, but as a warm and inviting place for your family and friends to congregate.

I am so not there yet. And Army families don't have the luxury of time, of settling in over the years and adding a piece here and a something there over the years. After three years at Fort Knox we were just getting the feel of comfortable . . . now at Fort Leavenworth we have to begin again and get a whole new vision.

I'm having trouble with that. Sigh.

A Recipe Worth Sharing: Tear Soup

My friend Laura shared with me the title to a book someone gave her on healing after a loss. The title of the book is Tear Soup. Laura, who recently lost her wonderful, exuberant and loving husband to brain cancer said it was a help to her. I picked it up because I am also going through my own grieving process at the loss of this exceptional man who I counted as a friend, knowing full well that what I am experiencing is nothing, not even a tiny scintilla close, in comparison. Still, it has affected me deeply as a personal loss; and the sadness and empathy I feel for Laura is overwhelming.

Here in this little book is a short story for all who walk through that valley. It is illustrated brilliantly, saying things like "Not fair, bad news, big disappointment, serious heartache, profound loss, major loss and more than I can bear," which all go into a pot with "the memories, all the misgivings, all the feelings and all the tears she needed to stew in the pot over time."

In a simple, yet poignant manner this book speaks about how to grieve. In our fast paced culture we have lost the art of grieving. And it is an art. No two people grieve the same. And why should they?

My grief for losing Mark will be a totally different recipe than Laura's, but we can share a bowl from each others pot. And listen. And cry. And laugh. And remember. This sweet little book doesn't tell us anything we don't already know instinctively, but reading through it reminds us that it's Okay to go about it in our own good time and way, using our own individual recipe and ingredients.

On Pulling Up Roots

And having to replant!

We have moved. This move was pretty much like all of our others. The packing up at one end, racing to the new post with both cars stuffed to the max with luggage, the kid, the animals and various and sundry items needed to feed them.

But this time was so different. Moving is usually a hard emotional experience, it is one of the top stressful situations you can have in your life. But we had more than that on top of it. We had the roller coaster ride of additional stresses. The first being that Ward returned home from deployment. We have taken enough life management courses with the Army and we know that there can be a huge adjustment time, but we didn't get that. We had to pack out in one week!

On top of that was the death of a good, good friend that very same week. We had expected it, but maybe not quite so soon. God's timing is always good and to be trusted. We were able to be there for the final goodbye. But now my best friend and I are miles apart during this heavy duty grieving. I can't look out the window, see her and run and give her a hug or just run over to talk. The need to do that seems to create another huge sadness for us both.

So between unpacking and painting walls there is weeping. And a husband who probably doesn't understand though he tries.

This too shall pass.

I no longer try to force God's hand, but I wait patiently. I have learned something through walking with Him all these years. He will give me something to do here. He will help me replant the roots and it will be something that will delight my heart.

This Situation Stinks!!

Our hound-lab mix scooted out the front door last night around 9:30 p.m. I grabbed the lead and hustled after him because on the rare occasions that he gets loose he heads straight for the creek in back of our housing area. It's stinky and sludgy and full of high weeds which makes it hard to get him out, especially since the hound part of him gets fresh scents of all kinds of wild critters; we have deer, coyote, raccoons, foxes and oh yes, SKUNKS!

And Kip found him one of those last night; I can't believe that in my 60 second lapse time he had gotten himself sprayed!! I found him thrashing about in the tall weeds and at first thought he was fighting with some animal. He came quickly when I called him, but oh . . . the smell!!

I learned some things last night. First if your dog gets sprayed by a skunk, keep him outside of your home until he's cleaned!! I took him in because I wanted to check him for wounds. He was OK on that . . . then I googled to find what would clean him up the best. A solution of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and a small squirt of dishwashing liquid did wonders. Unfortunately that is not a solution I can use of my carpets, walls, or anything else that came into contact with Kip, including visitors!

So I now have a very sweet smelling dog and a super-stinky home!! Oy! And my packers come Monday. Oy!! Febreeze doesn't cut it with this odiferous malady. I'm trying white vinegar sprayed on everything and getting all of my smaller rugs outside to air.

Ah, the visiscitudes of life!!

Home At Last!

This picture says it all!!

Tie A Yellow Ribbon

I love this tradition!! Ward is on on his way home and the yellow ribbons go up to welcome him back. Our front porch declares to the neighborhood that a soldier is home from a deployment and the blue star in the window can come down . . . until next time.