Summer
Summer is at its end, fall is arriving,
and I have been gone almost a month!
I can't believe it,
that my traveling to family and tending a grand
child has come to a close.
I am ready to be home, look out over the balcony
of my bedroom that looks over our back yard.
The comfort of the pond and all the gold and
silver fish that live inside its waters.
The fresh cut lawn, and as I arrive home,
the grapes, plums, peaches and nectarines are
waiting for my hands to put them in
jars or cut them for the freezer.
I love making magic with the fruit growing
in my yard, as I preserve them for winter.
My last month has been filled with hiking Montana
forests with 5 beautiful grandchildren and
their parents and the love of my life.
We have found blue "berries" which are called Oregon
grapes, the kids and I picked a bucket of them and
made jelly.
My most magical moment was, as we were looking for
more blue "berries", I found a mushroom!
Close to the ground, hiding under the grass and twigs
I realized this is real!
Yes! In the forest are mushrooms galore in Montana!
Who knew? Certainly not me. But I am in love
with mushrooms and recently learned how to
watercolor them, so I was in heaven.
The kids too were obsessed with finding me more mushrooms.
To bad I am a slow painter!
I take first mushroom and draw it on watercolor paper
and start the magical process of replicating it
just as it looks in real. This is quite a process that I have
learned and it takes patience and time.
I have spent the last two years learning the magic of
watercolors and making a real live item look
exactly like it does as you touch it in person.
Duplicating the flower or fruit or veggie.
It is so magical to me, as I have looked at botanical's
and am so intrigued by how to create such a real life
item on paper.
It brings joy to my soul to accomplish this amazing
task.
A few weeks later as we were hiking again around a lake
we found many species of mushrooms, the kids calling me
"Grandma" Come look at this one!
We spent hours searching and finding mushrooms!
We picked the different species and put them in a bag.
First in my pocket, then in a bag, for me to paint later.
Our main objective that day was to find huckleberries,
which we did only to realize none of us had
brought a thing to put them in - So off
came Dana and Jacobs hats and we started filling them with
our newly found huckleberries, still looking for mushrooms
along the way.
I was farther off from everyone as our young grandson Caleb
saw me with my hands full of huckleberries, trying to pick
more and no place to put them - off came his hat
and another container was created to fill with berries.
Here grandma-you can use mine.
Mushrooms too of course went in his hat.
Oh the magic of the day as we laughed, hiked, and
journeyed down the wooded path and around
the lake finding magic in everything we looked at.
Small mushrooms clustered together, curled like lace
Large mushrooms with flat tops
Mushrooms with reddish tops and one that
took my breath away with white dots on
top of the red cap.
Small tiny mushrooms
Mushrooms with a teeny tiny cap
And one that looked like BB8!
Oh the joy in the journey!
The joy in the moment.
The time together.
The love kindled in the days spent in the
mountains of Montana.
Grandchildren
Laughter
Excitement
Pure Joy!
I flew from Montana to California
after 2 weeks with these adorable children.
(not sure if mom and dad would describe them as such
but I do)
Two opposite lives
Two very different ways of living.
I went from living off the grid in Montana
to
Car filled streets of California.
The hustle and bustle of life.
From here to there
from there to here
As Dr. Seuss says.
From the hush of the Montana sky and
the northern lights
and milky way
to the view of the valley of
Southern California
all filled with the twinkling lights.
Oh the view of the lights!
From five very active grandchildren
to just one very active grandson.
From the beautiful blue lakes of Montana
to the lounging around the pool in the
backyard of a very ------- yard.
Splashing, laughing, singing, loving.
My days were filled with Jack,
shopping and the temple.
When Katie, the nanny, was off, Jack and I
read, ate dinner, bathed or swan in the hot tub til
it was time for bed.
We would wake up early,
Jack is an early riser, 5 am most days,
and play with the newly rescued kitties,
make breakfast, pack lunch -
peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese-
I would ask-
and then get ready for school.
Drive to school.
The first day I drove him to school,
Jack was amazed I knew the way there.
Sign him in at school
and the day was my own until school was out.
6 hours
Temple, shopping, reading, painting.
This became my routine while mom and
dad were off to Portugal for vacation with friends.
I love my alone time with Jack
Every year we spend a week together while
mom and dad are on vacation.
I live thousands of miles away,
so this connect time with Jack is very
special to me.
Just as it is with the Montana kids who live
virtually almost the exact amount of miles away
just in the opposite direction.
Oh, yes I am glad to be on my way back home.
But this times spent with these wonderful
families is pure joy to me.
I love that we have time together,
I love that we bond.
I love that we are able to show our love for
each other in these weeks of time together.
Home again.
As I look out over the balcony of my bedroom to the
mountains of Utah, I know that my time
away was so special, but it is nice
to be home again with Dana.
in my yard, as I preserve them for winter.
My last month has been filled with hiking Montana
forests with 5 beautiful grandchildren and
their parents and the love of my life.
We have found blue "berries" which are called Oregon
grapes, the kids and I picked a bucket of them and
made jelly.
My most magical moment was, as we were looking for
more blue "berries", I found a mushroom!
Close to the ground, hiding under the grass and twigs
I realized this is real!
Yes! In the forest are mushrooms galore in Montana!
Who knew? Certainly not me. But I am in love
with mushrooms and recently learned how to
watercolor them, so I was in heaven.
The kids too were obsessed with finding me more mushrooms.
To bad I am a slow painter!
I take first mushroom and draw it on watercolor paper
and start the magical process of replicating it
just as it looks in real. This is quite a process that I have
learned and it takes patience and time.
I have spent the last two years learning the magic of
watercolors and making a real live item look
exactly like it does as you touch it in person.
Duplicating the flower or fruit or veggie.
It is so magical to me, as I have looked at botanical's
and am so intrigued by how to create such a real life
item on paper.
It brings joy to my soul to accomplish this amazing
task.
A few weeks later as we were hiking again around a lake
we found many species of mushrooms, the kids calling me
"Grandma" Come look at this one!
We spent hours searching and finding mushrooms!
We picked the different species and put them in a bag.
First in my pocket, then in a bag, for me to paint later.
Our main objective that day was to find huckleberries,
which we did only to realize none of us had
brought a thing to put them in - So off
came Dana and Jacobs hats and we started filling them with
our newly found huckleberries, still looking for mushrooms
along the way.
I was farther off from everyone as our young grandson Caleb
saw me with my hands full of huckleberries, trying to pick
more and no place to put them - off came his hat
and another container was created to fill with berries.
Here grandma-you can use mine.
Mushrooms too of course went in his hat.
Oh the magic of the day as we laughed, hiked, and
journeyed down the wooded path and around
the lake finding magic in everything we looked at.
Small mushrooms clustered together, curled like lace
Large mushrooms with flat tops
Mushrooms with reddish tops and one that
took my breath away with white dots on
top of the red cap.
Small tiny mushrooms
Mushrooms with a teeny tiny cap
And one that looked like BB8!
Oh the joy in the journey!
The joy in the moment.
The time together.
The love kindled in the days spent in the
mountains of Montana.
Grandchildren
Laughter
Excitement
Pure Joy!
I flew from Montana to California
after 2 weeks with these adorable children.
(not sure if mom and dad would describe them as such
but I do)
Two opposite lives
Two very different ways of living.
I went from living off the grid in Montana
to
Car filled streets of California.
The hustle and bustle of life.
From here to there
from there to here
As Dr. Seuss says.
From the hush of the Montana sky and
the northern lights
and milky way
to the view of the valley of
Southern California
all filled with the twinkling lights.
Oh the view of the lights!
From five very active grandchildren
to just one very active grandson.
From the beautiful blue lakes of Montana
to the lounging around the pool in the
backyard of a very ------- yard.
Splashing, laughing, singing, loving.
My days were filled with Jack,
shopping and the temple.
When Katie, the nanny, was off, Jack and I
read, ate dinner, bathed or swan in the hot tub til
it was time for bed.
We would wake up early,
Jack is an early riser, 5 am most days,
and play with the newly rescued kitties,
make breakfast, pack lunch -
peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese-
I would ask-
and then get ready for school.
Drive to school.
The first day I drove him to school,
Jack was amazed I knew the way there.
Sign him in at school
and the day was my own until school was out.
6 hours
Temple, shopping, reading, painting.
This became my routine while mom and
dad were off to Portugal for vacation with friends.
I love my alone time with Jack
Every year we spend a week together while
mom and dad are on vacation.
I live thousands of miles away,
so this connect time with Jack is very
special to me.
Just as it is with the Montana kids who live
virtually almost the exact amount of miles away
just in the opposite direction.
Oh, yes I am glad to be on my way back home.
But this times spent with these wonderful
families is pure joy to me.
I love that we have time together,
I love that we bond.
I love that we are able to show our love for
each other in these weeks of time together.
Home again.
As I look out over the balcony of my bedroom to the
mountains of Utah, I know that my time
away was so special, but it is nice
to be home again with Dana.
