EMPTY NEST

It's official.  We are really empty-nesters.

We've been pseudo empty-nesters since Angie went to university four years ago, but now it's really, really true.  She has flown the nest, starting her life as an "official" adult as she starts her nursing career in Lubbock, Texas.

She and Doug left on their 740 mile journey early this morning and they are almost to their destination (Grandad and Nana Knox's home in Tahoka).

Tomorrow they will unload the boxes and start to get settled in her 

apartment in Lubbock.  

We plan and prepare for this and it IS good.  We are blessed to have kids who are adventurous and do not want a mediocre life.  That means far-flung adventures away from the home nest. 

Okay, little bird, fly.....

We're gonna miss you.

Paint by Number

Just hung these "PAINT BY NUMBER" pictures that Dad Davidson painted many decades ago.  Doug gave him the kits sometime in the 70s.  He recalls his dad coming up from the basement, cursing the difficulty of the pictures. He was such a perfectionist and there were so many small areas to paint!  I'm so glad he stuck with it.  These were the only things I really wanted from the Island Lake house after he died.  They were in some really cheesy frames and sat on my closet floor for the past 3 years.  Got motivated to hang them recently and found the barn-wood frames half price at Hobby Lobby.  

They are hanging above our bed. 

 THANKS,   Dad Davidson!

Things I'm Thankful For

Most days I try to come up with "5 Things I am Thankful For" before my feet hit the floor. I forget some days but here are 5 for today:


1) First Skype call with Trish, Pete, & Bowman from Bangladesh. Not the perfect connection, but good enough to make me very happy. 
2) That Doug wants to hear about my day.
3) Friends to laugh with over salad and pizza.
4) Friends to discuss books with.
5) Home-made pear gorgonzola walnut crepes for supper.

And one more... Angie's homemade shortbread today.  (That was a whole lot of sweet buttery melt-in-my-mouth deliciousness.)

Wisdom from Laura Ingalls Wilder

"It is still best to be honest and truthful;

to make the most of what we have;

to be happy with the simple pleasures

and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong."

Everybody's A Winner With Jesus

Today was a day to chillax after 4 very busy weeks, with many HIGHS (i.e. seeing Peg & Lorne and Rob & Kathy in Glacier, spending a couple weeks hiking, camping and backpacking with Angie, Seth, Trish, Pete and Bowman), and LOWS (i.e. the LONG drive back to the heat, friend Rick's unexpected death, a very heavy patient caseload, saying good-bye to Trish, Pete, and Baby Bowman as they flew off to Bangladesh this week).

So to restore my soul today I made a new yeast bread recipe -

date, almond, oat, whole wheat, honey--yum.

And then Doug and I played Cribbage.  This always makes me think of his folks, because they both played Cribbage quite a lot.  One of my new life goals (just made it tonight) is to get dealt a perfect hand:

(Thanks to Seth for our new Montana Coffee Traders cards.)

Neither of us was dealt the perfect hand tonight, but as Doug always says at the end of a game, "Everybody's a winner with Jesus."

Glacier Reality

Trip to Glacier was 12 days of enjoying God's glory in nature with people I love.

I backpacked with Bowman, hiked off-trail with Pete, ate Pie for Strength at Park Cafe, had delicious baked goods at the Polebridge Mercantile, and contemplated my existence in a most beautiful place on earth.

Road Trip to Montana

Woke up at 2:30 this morning, so instead of leaving at 5 AM, I got Angie up and we left Gilbert at 3:15 AM, heading to Montana. 

What a great day - 17 hours, 1093 miles and we are in Montana.

I don't want people to get the wrong impression. I do love Arizona, a lot, but when the temp reaches 114 (as it did yesterday) the urge to head to the mountains overtakes me.

Break in Kanab, Utah, where we were stopped in our tracks by a July 3rd Parade. Strangely, the parade wound up going both ways on the same street at the same time.

We also stopped at Linda Lea's for an iced coffee (and in my case, an Italian Ice.)

Angie needed to stretch out so there was a driver-switch and yoga-pose somewhere in Idaho

16 hours after starting our journey we entered Big Sky Country.  

Happiness. 

 And coolness.

And lots of bugs on the windshield.

We are happily settled in Motel 6 (they left the light on for us) 

with plans to meet up with lots of people we love tomorrow.