Splittin' My Time

 

  

Since I quit working full time in early summer of this year I have tried to balance my time between Nevada and California.  It can be quite a juggling act, leaving me feeling guilty sometimes no matter which way I go.  Brandon has been great about taking on the job of taking care of the dogs while I traipse around California, and Erika has filled in occasionally even though she now lives with her boyfriend, Jordan (pictured above).  So when I am in Fallon and one of the kids invites me to take part in something I try to do it.

In September Jordan took part in a roping event in Reno with a horse he has been training, Callie.  I have never been to anything like this and it is a new "culture" exposure for me.  I really enjoyed myself!  I took a LOT of photos of this new venue, and to be honest, not a lot of them were noteworthy.  It was good practice, though, and something I would like to explore.  The "cowboy" life seems to be full of hard-working people who all know each other and greet each other as old friends.  The first photo above is of Jordan warming Callie up before their event, the event itself, and then of Erika and Callie outside the arena.  I think that this straightforward lifestyle seems to suit her and she and Jordan seem to be good to each other.

One of the opportunities I am trying to take advantage of while in California is to visit the various Spanish missions up and down the coastal areas.  During a trip back to Monterey with Shawn the transfer case on our Dodge came apart right as we got into San Juan Bautista on Hwy 88.  While waiting for the tow truck I noticed signs for a mission there.  After doing a little bit of research I decided that this would be the first one I would visit and went back a couple of days later in the Volvo while Shawn was working.  San Juan Bautista is a very cute little town, but I will have to go back again when I don't have the dogs with me.  I did get to explore the mission and surrounding grounds though.  I love the architecture and the simplicity of these old buildings.

The next weekend Shawn and I went to Carmel to see the San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo mission or simply, Carmel Mission.  This was the second mission built in California, and one of the more well-known to tourists.  This mission was almost completely destroyed when restoration was begun in 1921, and is currently undergoing more work as well.  I will hope to return after the scaffolding is gone!  For more info on this mission see:
http://www.missionscalifornia.com/keyfacts/san-carlos-borremeo-de-carmelo.html

TIme at Home

Over the summer Shawn and I divided up our time between California and Fallon.  As much as I love the ocean our place in the desert is where I feel peace.  I love the wide-openness - the light as the sun comes up over the Stillwater range or goes down to the west, especially when it is cloudy and it gives that special light to the trees behind the house.  And then the stars!  Walking out on our deck at night and looking up at the sky where no city light dims the show, while the only sound is a slight breeze rustling the leaves in the cottonwoods.  

Fallon has a fabulous arts council and we have concerts here that are extraordinary.  I am sure that people are surprised at the variety of high quality performers that come to our little town.  They also have wonderful exhibits.  One of these was a collection of antique gas pumps.  Maybe that doesn't sound like art - but some of these machines and their workings are extremely interesting.  This was one of the first times that Shawn was able to attend a show in quite a while.   

As summer drew towards its inevitable end Shawn and I had our first job as Silver State Blasting Solutions!  In September we spent a week in Oregon at the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge doing experimental field trials to determine if we could successfully build a section of river through the marsh.  It was a success!  It was FUN!  And best of all - we did it together.

Wanderings of the Summer Part 2

Shawn working in San Francisco was a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of all that the Bay area has to offer - beautiful beaches and coastline, fantastic food, historical areas and good weather.  It was also nice that it is only a 4.5 hour drive from our home in Fallon, so that we could alternate weekends with each other.  

One of the most popular paragliding areas on the West Coast is located about twenty minutes from the hotel - Mussel Rock.  Hwy 1 and the houses at the top of the cliffs are slowly falling into the water, and  there is a visible demarcation where the San Andreas fault moves right through here.  The beach was a great place to hunt for shells and sea glass while Shawn soared above me in the afternoons, and the sound of the waves brings me to one of my favorite "happy places" in my mind.

As Shawn's job at Hunter's Pointe was drawing to a close we headed to Clearlake, CA to his grandparents house to meet up with his mom, her boyfriend and his aunt and uncle for a weekend of sleeping out under the stars on the deck, skiing and hanging out by the pool.  A number of wineries are located in this area now and we took a Saturday morning and visited a few.   Our favorite by far was the Brassfield Estates Winery.  All of the wines were estate wines, and the owners have put a lot of thought into using recycled items with a lot of history behind them into the structures and grounds.  The olive trees on the grounds are 80 year old specimens that were going to be bulldozed to make way for a shopping center.  The chandelier in the main tasting room came from the old Bank of America building in San Francisco - and it goes on and on.  By far the most interesting winery we have ever visited - and the wines are amazing as well!

Wanderings of the Summer Part 1

 After I quit working full time in order to spend more time with Shawn we have been to a number of great places, spending time with great people and having a great time.  Earlier in the summer Brandon was able to go with us to Crescent City, CA to visit Shawn's brother Damian and his wife, Jennifer.  Shawn's mom met us there as well.  

At low tide one morning we all went down to gather mussels among the rocks.  Not only was there an abundance of mussels, but so many other wonderful sea creatures were hidden among the rocks!  I could have spent hours looking for them and taking pictures, but low tide only lasts so long.

Of course it isn't just what's living that can capture my attention.  I grew up near water and rocks and driftwood on the beach have always drawn me.  Shawn is so very lucky that most pieces are too large to haul back to the car and bring home...

When we got back to Damian and Jennifer's house the guys went fishing and brought back what we needed to make a delicious seafood pasta for lunch.  There was also enough to make cioppino for dinner!

 

The next day we did something that Shawn remembered from his childhood - we took a jet boat up the Rogue River.  This fun-filled adventure is designed to get everyone on board as wet as possible, and a fun time was had by all!

 

Damian and Jen have turned their home into a beautifully self-sufficient haven set among redwoods.  They have provided us with an abundance of food that they have either grown, raised, hunted or fished for themselves.  We look forward to another visit.

Next Phase

 

Today marked the beginning of a new phase in my life.  Two weeks ago I was out alone in the Toyota above locating and marking camera spots for an upcoming test at work.  Beautiful day, and, yes, lots of fun to be able to do this kind of thing and get paid for it.  Last week I was at a living dune outside of Fallon (Sand Mountain) doing more camera work on another test.  It was windy and dusty and gritty and hot, but once again, I loved it.

But now I get to move on to something that will be more fun and fulfilling, because I quit being a full time employee and will now have the opportunity to spend more time with Shawn while he is working out of town.  Since January he has been "stationed" (sorry, it's the military phraseology coming out) in San Francisco, living in a hotel and working six 10 hour days with one Saturday off per month.  Doesn't really allow for a lot of time together, so we are taking steps to make that better.

The other benefit will be that I will have more time to take photographs, spend some extra time with Erika and Brandon, exercise, work in my garden and, hopefully, finally beat the critters!

As I sit here looking out at the ending of a beautiful Nevada day, I reflect on the people that have been a part of our lives since we moved here.  They all support this next phase, and helped give me the strength to know that it will be great.  I am so excited thinking of all of the sights and places that Shawn and I will share together and of the wonderful memories that will be created from them.

Memorial

Shawn and I took a week of our vacation time to head south. We were long overdue to meet our newest granddaughter, Madison Chanel Lynn Ridings, who was born April 1, 2011, shortly after we began caring for Daddy. More on that part of our visit in another post.
We made it into Grant, Alabama and my brother's house on Thursday evening a little later than we planned. John now lives in a beautiful spot up on a mountain, surrounded by trees and with just enough seclusion to make it peaceful. I am happy he found the place.
We decided that to just put Daddy's ashes in the ground was not right. We had the funeral home separate some out into two containers for the two places we knew were special to him: his birthplace of Blanket, Texas and the lake in Guntersville where he spent so much time in various boats on the water. Especially after his wife Micki had passed he was happiest when he was out on a boat. So Friday evening we headed to his favorite boat launch and left a part of him there where we had seen him so happy. The first photo above was from the dock. It was a perfect night - warm with a slight breeze, gorgeous light and calm water. I hope he smiled when he saw what we were doing.
On Saturday morning we held his memorial service. Pastor Rick Bell, who had answered many of Daddy's questions about life, death and heaven and hell, spoke of the man that he had come to know. He told us stories to make us smile and remember the man that Daddy was before illness took him away from us. The people who Daddy loved and respected were there and we were able to hear new stories of the man that they had come to love and respect in return. We laughed and cried in turn as the past came back. Then Daddy was laid next to Micki, with the heart shaped locket that holds their pictures inside.
After the service my brother's church had prepared lunch for us. Since the church was near Daddy's house, we drove by. I wish we hadn't. Daddy had put his home into a reverse mortgage after Micki passed, refusing to accept help from any of us. It kept him in his home until his illness made it necessary to bring him to live with us last January. The bank has now taken it back and it truly looks deserted - the yard he took such pride in overgrown and desolate, the fence falling over with the weight of ivy that has grown out of control. My only consolation is that the bank that charged him such high interest on his mortgage will never get their money back with the house in its current condition.
It was hard to come home after such a short time with the rest of my family. Our next trip will hopefully include meeting my brother in Texas at my father's birthplace. I only wish that we could have gone there with him while he was still alive.
Rest in peace Daddy.

Chinese New Year in San Francisco (or "Oops I Did It Again")

"It" being not taking my tripod to the parade.

Shawn is working in San Francisco for a while, affording me many more opportunities to see him, at least on some weekends. In early February Shawn's mom and her boyfriend traveled down from Oregon and we all met for the weekend of the Chinese New Year parade. I like San Francisco because, even though it's a big city, it doesn't make me feel rushed like other big cities normally do. There is so much to see there! This post could go on and on, but I will try to keep it limited to the subject and come back to the other items in another post.

We started our Saturday by heading into Chinatown for dim sum. This is nothing like what many people think of as "Chinese" food - including myself, at least until now. The restaurant was packed, but soon we had a table and the feasting began. Dim sum is similar to tapas in Spain - not a huge meal, but two or three morsels of something delicious to share. We spend a leisurely two hours or so enjoying the food and the company, then we hit the streets to take in as much of the excitement as we could before the parade that night. I had to remind myself over and over that I would be back and could return to see all of the fascinating shops.

Then there was the parade. The clothing, the elaborate floats and of course the dragons! There were countless dragons! And of course at the very end the biggest dragon of them all - the Golden Dragon, whose year this is, and who announced his coming with many firecrackers and lots of smoke, but who despite his fierce appearance hopefully breathed his "auspiciousness" on all in his path for the coming year.

(Almost) Ghost Towns, Vegas and Thanksgiving

I was supposed to fly to Cleveland the week before Thanksgiving and help Shawn drive the truck to San Diego for Thanksgiving but they shut his job down early due to the winter weather. So I cancelled my flight and he drove home a week early. We took advantage of the couple of extra days that gave us to stop along the way at the old mining towns - Tonopah, Goldfield, etc. - and then spent the night in Vegas before heading to SD for the family Thanksgiving. The biggest bonus to this trip was that we were able to get both Erika and Brandon to San Diego for Thanksgiving too!

The old mining towns are fascinating. The things that can be found with just a little extra effort have so much history behind them - old cars, trains, mines and mining equipment, shacks...the list goes on.

Then there was Vegas - and I didn't even gamble. Never had the desire to. But we stayed in a resort hotel with an amazing jacuzzi tub. Those that know our house know that we have a small bathtub that is not ideal for long relaxing soaks. And it is almost a joke now that if Kori stays in a hotel, Kori is going to take at least one nice, long bath, so this one was heaven - and romantic too. We had a great dinner, saw the fountains at the Bellagio and headed back to our room. The hotel (the JW Marriott) was so nice in fact that we decided to take our time leaving instead of driving through Death Valley as we had planned. We had an amazing breakfast next to a pool and waterfall, and wandered the grounds.

Thanksgiving dinner followed normal Meyer clan get together fashion - it was chaotic, noisy, confusing - and the best time families anywhere could possibly imagine! We had over 30 this year, so it just keeps getting better.

The photos are of an old rail car and Dodge, the night lights of Vegas and of course the aforementioned Meyer clan at Thanksgiving. Enjoy!