Settling In

Life is good. This is the view when I go on my walks. Clear, blue skies, magnificent oaks, squirrels to distract the dog, anthills, marshes, flying fish and even alligators. Today I saw a baby (not sure -- it was about 1-2 ft long) sunning itself by one of the ponds. It crawled into the water and kept watch. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw three more alligators in the pond and a few turtles too. We watched each other :)

I love coming home to vibrant milkweed and daisies planted by the side of our house. So pretty. Lots of butterflies and birds too.

All these pictures up above were taken by my daughter. She's getting good, no? My son isn't the only one with a good eye.

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We had such a fun time at the pumpkin patch last weekend -- hay rides, corn maze (hard to believe how tall the corn was), giant jumping pillow and gloriously orange pumpkins. We need to get some to decorate our front porch.

We are so blessed to have the final assembly for the Boeing 787 here in Charleston. Everyone here is so pleased to have the factory here as well because a big company like Boeing helps develop a lot of the supporting industry in the area.

This is my office (finally a room of my own!) and although there are plenty of boxes still left to be unpacked, I have all the important stuff -- my novel, my laptop, space and time. It's been two long months since I touched it and I will begin next week, if only to read and make notes. My goal is to get is polished to send it out by the end of the year.

The dog has a bed beneath my desk and she's sleeping there as I write this post. My old black cat hasn't yet discovered the blanket yet. She's meowing upstairs.

Can you give me tips on how best to dive back into writing and revising while there is still a ton of household stuff to be taken care of? Am I crazy to try to attempt this or should I just let it be until I can spend a couple of hours on it daily? It's probably going to take me another month to get settled enough where I'm not worried about lost school forms and what else did I forget to do. What do you do to get back into your work after a long hiatus and how do you write when life is still chaotic? I'm all ears.

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Moving In

It seems that every time we've moved, we have accumulated more stuff than what we've given away. We're finally in our new home and now the real work of making this house into a home begins. I had complained to Marcia H. that I had a month when we were pretty much living out of a suitcase in an apartment, that I was squandering the free time I had instead of diving into revisions, and she was spot on in her reason -- we'd be moving again -- and my brain knew it.

We moved into our semi-permanent home this weekend and I've been trying to get the kitchen set up, with space for the children to do their schoolwork. It's box-city though and very messy. I cannot write like this at all, and although I want to, I simply cannot focus. The priority is to get the house in order. I wish it would all happen magically, but there is joy in seeing gradual progress.

I take the dog out for long walks. It is beautiful here, with trails and paths and ponds. This morning we explored a marshy area by the Wando river and the dog kept snapping at the fiddler crabs. I'm surprised she's not gotten pinched yet. I take my breaks on the back porch. This is the view. A piece of heaven, no? It is quiet and I love listening to the bugs and birds chirp. I see eagles and vultures soaring up above.

The previous owners left this little Manneken Pis statue. My daughter thinks it's disgusting, but we lived in Belgium for a few years so I have a soft spot for this little boy.

So, there you go. I took a longish break for this post, and I must get back to my boxes. Pray that we get settled soon, so that I can get back to my writing.

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The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic -- Again

For some reason, I get a lot of people visiting here who are interested in the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic. As much as I loved the song, the translation that I pulled off the website is incorrect. I didn't realize this, but apparently there are several lovely (mis)translations floating around on the Internet. I should've done my research before posting, but better late than never. I will be deleting my previous post on the Lord's Prayer.

If you scroll near the end of this post, you will see a translation by Steve Caruso, a scholar, and I urge you to read the entire text.

As you will see, what we pray in English is good and well.

I am sorry to spread bad information, but I hope I have redeemed myself.

To a commenter who was interested in Aramaic, I hope you are reading this, and find the links useful.

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Warm Water

I couldn't get over how warm the ocean was. They said 80 degrees. Felt wonderful. We were in there for a couple of hours just before high tide and the sound of waves crashing and engulfing us much too quickly was sheer delight. My memories of being in lakes and rivers and the Pacific ocean are not associated with warmth. Only cold. We'd go camping and after 2-3 days feel so grubby, we just have to walk into the icy waters. Refreshing. And then towelling off quickly and sitting by the fire to get the blood circulating again.

Here, I didn't even realize how hot my skin was until after we came home. The kids and I are turning into toasty little brownies. My husband, alas, is turning pink. If it hadn't been for him, we'd have gotten sunburned as well. But he made all three of us get out because he didn't want us to burn. I'm thankful for that.

Can you believe that my kiddos were as far out as my husband even though this was their first time to be in the Atlantic? The waves were way over their heads. We swallowed plenty of salt-water. The good thing is that whatever bug my son was just beginning to harbor in his sinuses is gone!

We definitely need to join a swim club so that we can become better swimmers and ride those waves.

I hope you all had a restful Labor Day and had some fun too.

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A Photo Journey -- Part One

The empty house ... it was our home for seven wonderful years. But it's time to move on ... Someone else will make this their home and we wish them all the blessings that we've had and more.

The Toyota gets picked up, since we'll all be in the minivan.

My husband, who did the bulk of the driving. Bless his soul.

The kids -- full of excitement and adventure.

This next picture is actually in Yellowstone of the Tower ... that's where we went after the stinky mudpots and geysers ...

On the way to Yellowstone, there was a spectacular thunderstorm.

Finally, we got to Yellowstone. What a gorgeous place, yet it makes me think I'm getting a taste (or stench) of hell. Some of the most fascinating bacteria are found in here -- the Archae. I wrote about these critters in Odyssey and the whole time I was researching them, I wished I were back in the lab, figuring out how their cell membranes withstand such heat, what kinds of pumps they have to live in such inhospitable conditions. Both my son and I felt just a little bit sick after breathing all the sulfurous gases emanating from the earth.

Old Faithful ...

Just one of the many serene valleys in Yellowstone.

After Yellowstone, we crossed two mountain passes. Beautiful and desolate.

We even saw real cowboys in this high desert country in Wyoming.

We saw many bikers on the road ...

Sturgis anyone?

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A Photo Journey -- Part Two

My Internet connection is great today, so I thought I'd post some pictures of our journey. It's already getting too long, so I'll post the pictures from the first part of our journey later.

At Mount Rushmore. The man who took our picture gave his big camera to my son to take their picture. He was so pleased. I know one day he'd love to have a digital SLR. Me, I'm happy with the point and shoot.

Two crosses -- a copper one for my daughter and a Black Hills gold one for me. Years ago, my husband had bought a leaf pendant, but I have since lost it.

I have a thing for bridges and tunnels.

One of my daughter's drawings. Not bad for being in a moving vehicle.

The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. This state has so many cool places to explore. Next time, we'll come with a camper.

We didn't take any pictures for almost a thousand miles even though we were visiting family and friends. We'd put in a couple of l-o-n-g driving days and were just grateful to not be in our van. I remember how hard it was trying to find a room because of all the motorcycle riders going upto Sturgis for the weekend. Many hotels do not take pets and we had two. One lady made an exception for us in Sioux Falls, SD, and were we relieved to finally crawl into bed close to midnight. The next morning was Sunday, so we went to early morning Mass at the Cathedral. I wish I'd had my camera. Such a gorgeous Church.

Our first visit to Tennessee. So beautiful in these Smokey mountains. We'll be back!

My tired family. We covered 3,000 miles in eight days. Almost there ...

Getting settled in our apartment. The dog ate all the cat food, so now the cat gets to chow down on the kitchen counter. Some of you know that we had to give away our kittens -- we couldn't find temporary accommodations that would accept four pets. It was heart-breaking, but the kittens have a good home.

What a treat to have an outdoor swimming pool where the water is warm, almost like bathwater.

So nice to stroll here after Mass.

The kids are back in school. Don't they look smart in their brand new uniforms? On Weds. there is Mass so the boys wear a tie. This school reminds me of my old Convent school (minus the nuns) with their greater discipline.

I suppose I should get back to working on my novel now, right? It's been over a month since I touched it, and I've run out of excuses.

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Welcome to SC

Our Internet connection is very slow, hence my relative quietness online. But I am bursting to share so many things. Patience, patience. I'm trying to cultivate it.

Before we left Redmond (WA), I had joked that a hurricane will surely come once we buy a house, and wash it away, just to test our faith. I DID NOT MEAN IT. I couldn't believe the news when I learned that a hurricane the size of Europe was coming our way. I was so grateful that all we got was high wind and rain and some damage in coastal SC. But now I am praying for the people in the North.

The satellite images are so beautiful, with the swirling mass. And I am reminded we are nothing, absolutely nothing, without God. His power are beauty are wondrous. Here are a couple of pictures that my son took while we took a walk near our apartment Friday night. Rainbows are a promise.

Stay safe, all of you in the path of Irene.
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Two Beaches

We celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary yesterday by going to Latin Mass at Stella Maris on Sullivan's Island, SC, taking a walk along the rocks and beaches at Fort Moultrie and then having a fabulous dinner at Station 22. We had our kids with us and my son took this picture, with that amazing suspension bridge in the background (it connects Charleston to Mt. Pleasant).

Coincidentally, the homily was about finding home, how we're all on a journey until we are at eternal rest. But I felt right at home here, esp. at Church. I am so thankful that God opened this door for us, and thankful He gave us the courage to step out in faith and trust as He leads us.

Many of you know that we've been travelling, moving coast to coast. It's been an incredible journey and I hope to post pictures once we are settled. We've been getting the children ready for school and we still need to find long-term housing, so you can imagine the chaos.

Seventeen years ago, we were married on the beach in Oak Harbor, WA. It was a beautiful day, but the water was cold, as it always is on the Pacific NW. We vowed to be together, through thick and thin, and I still marvel that I can love my husband more now than I did 27 years ago. I had no clue back then. God is good.

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