If you only had two months left to live, what would you do?
That’s what my neighbor learned Thursday. He sent an email to his golfing foursome and told them he had been diagnosed that day with brain cancer and had two months to live. He added that he planned on golfing Monday, Wednesday and Friday as normal.
I received an email from my friend, his wife, that she wouldn’t be attending any of our women’s group events because her husband had cancer and didn’t have long to live.
I passed their house during my walk Friday when I spotted them walking out their front door. They both waved to me.
I walked up to them and said, “I just want to give both of you a hug.”
The husband said, “We could use hugs right now.” The wife and I burst into tears. Then he asked me to look out for his wife and call her often.
“Of course,” I said, stunned that he was so calm, collected and more concerned about his wife than himself.
“What did I do to deserve this beautiful man?” my friend said through tears. “I’m grateful for the years I had him in my life.”
He really is one of the kindest, sweetest men I’ve ever met. He always has a smile on his face and seems genuinely interested in you.
Their answer to the question of what would you do with two months left is to get their affairs in order. Live life as they always do — in love, appreciating each other and enjoying the little moments of each day.
The day after Christmas, I took my daughter to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Arizona home and work place called Taliesin West. This was my third visit to the magical place.
The photo above was on a bright sunny day when I visited Taliesin West with my son and daughter-in-law two years ago. Unfortunately, they had to leave early this Christmas vacation because we had unhealthy air quality alerts and my son couldn’t breathe. I was so sad to have them leave us, but the bright spot was spending one-on-one time with my daughter.
“The mission of an architect is to help people understand how to make life more beautiful, the world a better one for living in, and to give reason, rhyme, and meaning to life.”
– Frank Lloyd Wright, 1957
Each visit to Taliesin West, I feel like I am in the presence of genius — which of course I am. I love the use of space, materials, and the different feel from one building, room to outdoor spaces. This visit, I noticed so many more details than I had before.
“Taliesin West is a look over the rim of the world.”
We did an hour-long self-guided tour with our own phones and earbuds. I appreciated the detail of information including snippets of Frank Lloyd Wright speaking. I could picture the people living and working there.
The tour took us from outside to inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s office, around the property to various pools and patios to inside a gathering room, dining room, cabaret where they watched movies, inside the drafting room and inside a Kiva. The Kiva is a round dark room, that feels like it’s underground with phenomenal lighting in the ceiling and floor. They watched movies there and used it for storage when they returned to Wisconsin for the summer.
Here are some photos I took with my iphone during my trip with my daughter:
A view of Bougainvillea through the window in Wright’s office.
An outdoor space between buildings.
Wright was a collector of Asian Art. This eight-paneled screen featured ceramic faces.
The two mosaics, inspired by the moon and sun, were a gift from Clare Boothe Luce. She turned to mosaics as therapy in her grief of losing her daughter in a car accident. The Luces were friends with the Wrights. The mosaics are in the beautiful Garden Room.
Below: A Chinese statue which is one of around a dozen markers placed throughout Taliesin West. They are located when a theme or concept changes.
From the Taliesin website:
Wright’s beloved winter home and desert laboratory was established in 1937 and diligently handcrafted over many years into a world unto itself. Deeply connected to the desert from which it was forged, Taliesin West possesses an almost prehistoric grandeur. It was built and maintained almost entirely by Wright and his apprentices, making it among the most personal of the architect’s creations.
To get into the Christmas spirit this year, I downloaded a religious app on my phone. On my walks I listen to a Bible in a Year podcast and an Advent Challenge.
In the Advent Challenge, some of the days end with a prayer which is more like a meditation. It’s called the Litany of Let Love.
Have a wonderful holiday this week and enjoy the Litany of Let Love:
My wild kingdom life continues. Two mule deers munched on jojoba plants in our backyard outside our fence last week for a few hours. There wasn’t much left of one jojoba when they were done.
I was fascinated and managed to stand a few yards away — on my side of the fence. At one point the buck jumped and it looked like he’d run away. But instead, he froze and the pair didn’t seem to think I was a threat. The buck had small antlers that were narrow. You can barely make them out in the photos.
I took the photo above with my Nikon. I had trouble with the camera, because the mulies would be partially behind shrubs and the with camera on auto, focused on the plant life, leaving the mule deers blurry. This was the only decent photo I got.
Here are a few more photos and a video from my iphone:
Here are the mulies munching on jojoba. There’s a good view of the buck’s antlers.
I sat myself down on a bench opposite the deer and watched feeling the peace of nature. What a blessing during Advent to experience this beauty.
The Gift of Christmas Poet: Catherine Pulsifer
Family and friends gathered near, Laughter and love so warm, sincere. May the joy of Christmas Day, Guide your heart in every way.
Remember those who face the cold, Whose stories often go untold. Extend a hand, share what you can, For love unites the hearts of man.
I had a visit from a Harris Hawk Wednesday. Then a friend joined him. I practiced my photography as he moved around our backyard, looking for his favorite spot.
Photo two:
He decided to try a tree rather than the fence.
Photo three:
I caught him in flight as he flew from one end of the yard to another.
Photo four:
I handed my camera to my husband after seeing a bunch of my blurry photos. He hadn’t used the camera before, but I think he did well!
Photo five:
I took this pic and it turned out! While I’m writing the post, that’s where the Harris Hawk sits. He’s looking down on house finches who are on the ground.
Photo six: Hanging out on the neighbor’s chimney with a buddy.
I’m thrilled when cardinals come to visit. I took this photo with my camera through the window.
I’m getting ready for Christmas and was thinking about the games we used to play when I was a kid. Our family was big on games and I found them mostly boring. When I was young, I went along and played. When I hit my teens, I no longer wanted to and said no thanks.
We played board games like Monopoly, Life and Clue. My brother and I played a military strategy game called Stratego.
My parents were into cards. They hosted Pinochle and Bridge nights. I’ll never forget the card table that would come out of the closet, legs unfolded and stood in the center of our small living room in our first house.
We played Gin Rummy, Knock Rummy, Demon and Poker as a family. When we moved to our new home in the countryside, the game table, a round one that was permanent, was placed next to a window seat in the corner of the living room with huge windows. I soon realized that I could peak at people’s cards in the reflection of the windows at night.
With my kids and DIL coming for Christmas, I’d like to play a few games. I’ve got Catch Phrase, the electronic hand held game where two teams try to guess phrases through clues and gestures. It’s very much like Charades, but the electronic device gives players a choice of categories and then the word or phrase. The kids played Catch Phrase for hours at swim meets.
I also bought a few decks of cards. My daughter and I like to play Demon which is a fast-paced double solitaire type of fun.
Our family played Poker when the kids were still living at home. Our favorite game was Texas Hold’em. Before kids, my husband and I played two board games — Pente and Trivial Pursuit. Those are tucked away in the closet and may need to be dusted off. My son said he’s not sure our Trivial Suit cards from the 1980s or 1990s will be fair. I say why not?
Do you enjoy playing games with family and friends? What games did you play growing up? What games do you play now?
The cardinal visited my AI bird feeder, Bird Buddy, after I took my own photos.
Last week, after my encounter with a pack of coyotes, I had to get dressed up for a Christmas party. If you missed the coyote post, it’s HERE.
I was kind of worn out, stressed, and not feeling up to it. But we were driving another couple from our neighborhood, so there was no backing out.
It was a Christmas/Holiday party for my charitable group that raises funds for a residential facility that helps rescued sex-trafficked women return to a “normal” life. I’ve written about The Dream Center HERE.
One of our members opened her home for the party. It was catered and I have to share the beautiful display of hors d’oeuvres and her Christmas decorations.
Dessert.
This is the other side of the island with more delicious food and gorgeous decorations.
I wish I would have taken photos of her backyard. You can see the photo above, how the glass doors disappear into the wall. The hostess and her husband are Italian and their backyard looks like a Roman style garden. It was a beautiful evening with friends.
The hostess had a surprise for us:
Dickens Christmas Carolers!
The party put me in the holiday spirit. I’m so looking forward to Christmas this year with my children and daughter-in-law.
When have you not wanted to go somewhere and it turned out to be better than expected?
