I AM BACK, MAYBE

 I had forgotten all about this blogg. That can happen when you are 86! I am thinking about picking it up again. 

A lot has happened in my life since 2018. My family has grown by leaps and bounds - many more grands, greats and great greats.We have done some international travel and if I continue, I will share some of it. 

In 2018 I ran for Congress in Utah as a Democrat and withdrew when a better, more experienced candidate entered the race. We supported Ben McAdams and he won by about 100 votes. Prior to my congressional run, I served as a marketing consultant for Alliance Association Bank, based in Phoenix. We successfully built their UT business by millions. 

We moved from Salt Lake City, UT in 2020 to Tucson AZ during the pandemic and live in the county just outside Oro Valley, in a home that is over 20 years old. It has a lovely view of a valley and overlooks an wash. We get all kinds of local critters visiting. 

I volunteer for Tucson Habitat for Humanity and serve on their Selection Committee and as a Family Partner, coaching those who qualify for homes during about a 10-12 month period while their homes are being built and they put in 450 hours of sweat equity.

My husband Collie Bowers and I live with our dog Red, an emotional support dog, and two cats, Abby and CB, the latest addition to our family. CB also goes by Little Shit and PITA (pain in the ass). Perhaps I will get into some of his adventures.

I took up art about a year and a half ago. I love doing portraits, but am branching out some. I learned to draw, then did charcoal, charcoal painting and now do watercolor.

View from our backyard

Backyard at night

My watercolor of above

A BEAUTIFUL WEDDING!

We had a memorable week in Tampa for Shannon McKinney's marriage to Matthew Cobel. Shannon's mother, Cheri McKinney, Collie's sister, and Shannon's sister Heather Coffel, were our traveling companions. Out flight to Tampa was a red eye and our hotel was a La Quinta near the airport and next to an Ihop! Neither were wonderful, but handy and we spent little time there. By the time we picked up the rental car, checked into the motel, ate and unwound it was 3:00 AM.

The next day Collie picked up his tux (he was giving the bride away), and we made our way to the Sunken Gardens, a lovely spot for the rehearsal and the wedding ceremony the next day.

Bridal attendants

Some garden beauty

We met the rest of the wedding party and Matthew's family.

The men of the wedding party

The rehearsal dinner was later at U le le, a lovey spot on the Tampa bay. I had a refreshing drink with a flowery liquer of some kind and fresh cucumbers. Dinner was extraordinary and it was a pleasure to visit with spouses of the wedding party.

Rehersal Dinner

Rehersal Dinner. Dave Cobel shown in background with Cheri McKinner

Collie with sister Cheri

Sand ceremony

Bride's attendants

Groom's mother

Bride's mother\

The rehearsal paid off. The wedding went without a hitch and Collie did his job well. The ceremony was beautiful, with the mothers' of both the bride and groom reading parts of "The Little Prince" fable followed by a Sand Ceremony. Shannon't and Matthew's dog Bagus (golden/puddle mix) was the ring bearer.

Bagus delivers the rings

The Sunken Garden had cages of exotic birds and as if on cue, the kookaburra birds let lose with their strange cackling laugh at the end of the ceremy, causing all the guests to laugh along. Perfect!

We arrived at the Weston Hotel for the reception dinner early and enjoyed lunch and a stroll prior to a boat ride with the wedding party. The captain gave us an excellent narrative, telling us about the history of Tampa and pointing out historica buildings as well as new ones.




The wedding reception was quite a gala, with a DJ who played music from all eras. Collie (who hates to dance) danced beautifully with the bride. I was a wall flower and just danced by muself.

Collie dances with Shannon

This is Liam, Matthew's nephew doing his own thing at the reception.

Jason, old friend of the groom, conducted the ceremony and gave a toast at the reception

Deidra was the maid of honor. She toasted the couple at the reception.

Yesterday I took a solo road trip, traveling to Torrey, UT, about a three hour drive south, to explore an unusdal piece of property. My CrossTreck Subaru and I loved the freedom of the road. I drank in the spectacular scenery, had a hearty breakfast after arriving, explored the Kiva and was driven on nearby back roads. Wondering if there is a future there, even if short term, as a retreat sometime after the election. I picture myself catching up on reading, doing more writing, and taking some walks. Undoubtedly I would be lonely, but I would come to the city, perhaps monthly, when winter road conditions allow, and Collie would visit me. He would miss my cooking. The spectacular scnery from the roof top patios is 360 degrees and inspirational. There is lots to be done if this dream is to become a reality, the foremost being affordability.

A WEEKEND IN SEDONA

Had a memorable weekend with my sister Paula, a LPGA teaching pro in Sedona. The weather prohibited us from golfing, but we hiked, watched Netflicks, ate, reminised, got caught in a crazy rain, lightening and thunder storm, and giggled. Here are some photos:

Montezuma's Castle

Montezuma's Well

Where Montezuma's Well comes springs up from the earth

An ancient cliff dwelling above Montezuma's Well

Hiking sisters

Sister Paula looking at the scenery from above Monetzuma's Well

HELP FIND SOLUTIONS TO THE SUICIDE EPIDEMIC

I will be moderating this panel on October 14. Attend and be part of the solution.

I Want to Get Gack to Blogging

Blogging is like a journal that I put away in the back of some dark drawer, forgot about and just came across. It is dusty and a little smelly - needs airing. Bear with me as I dust it off and give it a try.

I would like to share some of what I have been up to the past couple of year, a little about my family, friends and community. Let's have some fun, celebrate, and perhpas even cry a little.

Wild Child

Wild Child

I had lots freedom as a child and reflect on those rich years. I am sadden that my own children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are mostly city dwellers, growing up during a time when society had grown mistrustful and suspicion and missing out on encounters with nature.

            I open the back door of our cabin. I breathe the air, pine scented tinged with the spicy aroma of sagebrush, deep into my lungs and watch my exhalations billow into the cold clear day. Jeans are tucked into the tops of red rubber goulashes; I am wearing long underwear, my head is covered with a blue wool cap pulled low over my brow, hands snuggled into knitted woolen mittens and shoved deep into the pockets of my jacket. Soon my nose feels frozen and it drips.

            It is 1948; I am ten years old and we live in Mammoth Lakes in the high sierras of California. Days of bad weather have forced me to be cooped up with my two younger sisters and touchy pregnant mother. I have spent long afternoons alone in our upstairs attic bedroom carefully creating scrap books of cartoons cut from newspapers. They are organized by character: Nancy and Sluggo, Mary Worth, Terry and the Pirates, and Superman. Spring appears to be winning the battle over winter.

            I am eager to escape and I follow a game trail through quiet woods, trying to tread so that slushy snow doesn’t flow over the tops of my goulashes.  I make my way onto an old road and follow it north, trudging uphill on the deteriorating pavement, leaping over puddles, some with a crust of ice on the top. The meadows on my left are framed by the snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains. A few yellow wild flowers are sprinkled about. I am in a symphonic world composed by snowmelt in all its forms - roaring, rushing, gushing and trickling down the mountains through the fields, across the road, and plunging into roaring Mammoth Creek to my right. The calls of blackbirds, robins and jays add a certain harmony as they flit about in search of mates, insects and suitable nesting sites.

            I pause by a barbed wire fence and watch a small herd of cattle grazing on the shoots of grass that form green islands in the snow. They raise their heads, glance at me, and return to their job. The pond where we attempted to skate in the winter is mostly melted,  with just a rim of ice clinging to the sides. 

            I walk as far as I can go up towards Old Mammoth, stopped by huge drifts of snow frozen under towering pines. I retrace my path, not meeting a soul, hungry and eager to be in the kitchen warmed by a wood stove and devouring a peanut butter and jam sandwich.

CHRISTMAS PROMPTS A STROLL THROUGH MY RECIPE FOLDER

I have never kept an organized book with all of my favorite recipes. Instead, for the past 55 years all the recipes collected from friends, clipped from newspapers and magazines, and, in the last few years, downloaded from the web, have been shoved into an ancient manila folder. 

With a few exceptions, typically for a baked goodie, I follow a recipe once, and never recreate it exactly, rather using it as a guide. I have been told by some who eat something I have make that they really like, "I will never see that again." True, but the surprise is usually better! I call myself a "dump, stir and taste" cook and think that would make a great title for a recipe book someday.

This morning during conversations with my daughters who are doing Christmas cooking (I am not), we discussed the fruitcake that we made as gifts years ago. You can find the simple recipe below. One daughter hated the cake, one loved it and asked for the recipe.

This prompted a quest to find the ancient recipe in my folder, turned a darker and more brownish color than the original manila, stained by who knows what foodstuff ingredients and the passage of time. As I thumbed through stacks of unorganized recipes my cooking life passed before my eyes. I found “Bon Bon’s Fruitcake Recipe,” towards the back, a recipe given to me by a friend when I lived in Hawaii as a young woman. Bon Bon was her daughter’s name.

I made a delightful discovery of a Christmas Eve dinner menu from the 1980s. This was printed in a fairly (for me) legible hand on a page from a legal tablet with a list of 19 family member guests, including two of my children, two sisters and their families, my parents and in-laws, and a brother-in-law and his wife - who was bringing what dish, and a timeline as to when I would prepare the bulk of the traditional turkey and stuffing meal. At the bottom was a shopping list with everything crossed through.

Following the Christmas Eve menu was a similarly organized page for Christmas brunch the next day, also attended by 19 guests. The guest list wast slightly different from the Christmas Eve group. One sister and her family who attended Christmas Eve did not come, but my third sister and her husband came and a son-in-law brought two grandchildren.

Paging through this folder triggered memories of years of feeding family and entertaining friends.  I nostalgically looked at recipes gathered when I worked with home economists that were constantly testing recipes and gathering others from famous restaurants. I noted the changes in food preferences and eating habits. Towards the top was a recipe for humming bird syrup, which sustains our summer deck visitors, and many chicken and pasta recipes. Those containing beef and cheese had inched down into the stack. I need to find that recipe for Peking pot roast, a long ago favorite.

Merry Christmas to all.

Bon Bon's Fruitcake

1/2 lb. S&W glazed cherries

1/2 lb. Glazed pineapple

1 lb. Shelled pecans

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup flour

4 Eggs

2 Tsp. baking powder

1 Tsp. vanilla.

Cut up fruit with scissors into not-too-small pieces. Cut dates in four pieces. Add chopped pecans. Add sugar and mix. Sift flour. Add sifted flour and baking powder. Add beaten eggs and vanilla and work mixture with hands until fruit is all coated. Press mixture firmly into pans lined with heavy wrapping paper, well greased.

Batter should come to within 1 1/2 inches from top. Bake at 325 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean. (Approximately 1 hour 15 min.) This recipe makes two loaf cakes, small size.

Note: I think I put the batter into three small loaf cake pans for gifts.

POST THANKSGIVING THANKS

I missed being with family yesterday. Collie and I enjoyed a 10:00 AM viewing of SkyFall, the new Bond film along with about 10 other early morning risers.

I cooked Thanksgiving lite while counting my many blessings and enjoyed messages and phone calls from children, grandchildren and sisters. I also did my budgets for 2013 - that always gets me into reality.


This morning it was time to think about those less fortunate and do a little about it. Collie and I will enjoy an afternoon outting.

THE DEMISE OF HOSTESS TWINKIES: A not too fond goodbye

Goodbye Hostess! I was a 60s mom who lovingly saw that my children had Hostess treats in their lunches almost every day, along with P & J sandwiches made with Wonderbread. We make many runs to the Hostess day-old bread store, where there were good savings to be had.

Well, I have come a long way, baby, in my nutritional education. I still enjoy junk food occasionally, but won't miss Hostess products, except the memories created by those shopping trips with my three youngsters in tow.

I hurt for those who will be losing jobs and hope they find work producing more nutritionally sound foods.

HOPE FOR BETTER VISION

Saw a new ophthalmologist yesterday. My vision had deteriorated badly despite cataract surgery and corrective lens implants. I was able to throw the glasses away. 

I now wear 3 pairs of glasses. It is a pain to change glasses according to the circumstances and still feeling handicapped by poorer night vision and a lot of sensitivity to light and glare. I understand why rock stars wear dark glasses when on stage.

Good news! I actually have 20-20 vision thanks to the corrective lenses implanted during cataract surgery.  He found that my right eye had developed a cloud behind the lens, which happens in about 20% of cataract patients.The cloud in the left eye had been taken care of a couple of years ago and the right eye should also been done then. He used a laser, and in about 10 seconds took care of the right eye. This was covered by Medicare. 

Not so good news! He found I had developed sever astigmatism in my left eye and a tad in the right eye. Taking care of that will require LASIC surgery, be rather costly and not covered by Medicare. I will have a free evaluation in a couple of weeks to see about doing the left eye and the cost. 

I am disgusted with my original opthalmogolist, who should have also lasered the right eye and just prescribed glasses for the astigmatism, never explaining an alternative.

Perhaps by 2013 I will be able to toss the glasses once again. Hooray!