The time has come. I’m traveling to Washington state to be with family and celebrate my mom’s life. She passed away from asymptomatic COVID on New Year’s Day.
My brother and I were grieving badly along with our aunt, Mom’s little sister, and we decided to wait until her birthday to spread her ashes and to be together to celebrate her life. I thought a little time would help me face the loss. I don’t know if it made it better or worse.
The trip has been hanging over my head since the first week of January. Now that it’s here, I’m feeling waves of grief and untapped emotion.
The photos are from property that has been in the family for three generations. This is where we’ll say good-bye to mom.
Our property on the Stilaguamish River.Mom trout fishing in the river when I was up for a visit from California years ago.
I was trying to cut down our cable TV Wifi bill. I went to the closest store a few weeks ago and asked them for suggestions. Their answer was odd, but they promised to cut one-third of the bill if I purchased an outdoor camera.
What? By purchasing a camera that could be used at the front door like Ring, we would save the price of the camera each month. Although it made little sense to me, I agreed.
Our monthly bill did go down by the cost of the camera. Next month, I’ll be ahead.
Instead of using the camera at the front door, I set it up on the back patio. I’ve been hoping to catch some wildlife. I wasn’t disappointed.
Check out the videos below of wildlife:
The bobcat appears at about 15 seconds in. After he leaves the scene the rest of the video is dark. No need to watch any more of it. I’m afraid I don’t know how to cut out the clip of the bobcat.
Quail in the backyard.
it’s not the best quality of camera, but if I get more shots at night of the bobcat, I’ll be thrilled.
My dad sent me a video from Phoenix of a bobcat inside someone’s home cuddled in on the dog bed with toys. The bobcat entered through a doggy door. Unfortunately, the dog was badly hurt, but is surviving after surgery. The video is included in the CBS story below. Click on the link HERE.
Arizona resident comes home to bobcat in dog’s bed
A homeowner in San Manuel, Arizona, came home after work to find a furry creature in her dog’s bed – but it wasn’t a pet. It was a bobcat, believed to have come through the home’s unlocked doggie door.
The homeowner snapped a photo of the bobcat lounging in the bed and the Arizona Game and Fish Department shared the image on Twitter, warning residents not to handle wildlife like this themselves.
Officers with the department did arrive at the scene, but the bobcat had already escaped when they arrived.
I love the saguaros across the street in the preserve.
In an article in the Wall Street Journal “The Superpowers of Highly Sensitive People,” journalist Elizabeth Bernstein talks about strategies sensitive people use to cope with overwhelming moments. (I love Bernstein’s articles and the fact that she’s an Elizabeth Anne like me. Although I’m an Ann without an e.)
She admits she’s what known as an HSP herself.
At the end of the article is a test you can take to determine if you’re an HSP too. I did, and according to the quiz, I passed with flying colors.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
HSPs process information more deeply than other people. They’re very responsive to emotions, both their own and those of others. And they’re often more attuned to sensations, such as taste, touch, sound or smell.
Scientists have been examining HSPs for decades. Researchers believe that sensitivity occurs on a spectrum: About 20% to 30% of people are HSPs, including both men and women. A similar amount have low sensitivity, while the majority are in the middle.
High sensitivity—another term is environmental sensitivity—is an innate, stable trait, requiring some HSPs to employ next-level coping skills. They use strategies such as setting boundaries, scheduling downtime and planning positive experiences.
These tactics often enable them to thrive in their personal lives and careers. They are also a great blueprint for everyone.
I thought it was an interesting concept to think about. It reminded me of a picture book manuscript that I wrote when my son was young. He told me his friend’s feelings were only in black and white while he had feelings in many colors — more than you can find in a large crayon box.
I won a couple awards with that manuscript, although I didn’t find a publisher.
I do agree with the journalist that the way HSPs cope are helpful to everyone. Set boundaries, allocate your energy, schedule downtime and things that make you happy, Sometimes I sit down in the yard, listen to the birds and watch the clouds. Then I feel recharged.
Do you think you’re an HSP? Who in your life do you see as a highly sensitive person? What are your thoughts with the coping skills mentioned in the article?
At first the birds were avoiding our back yard like the plague. I guess the flamingos I got for my birthday looked too menacing. After tossing birdseed at the feet of the flamingos we got our first visitor. A bright red cardinal.
The quail are still wary and they walk on the opposite side of the yard — as far away from the flamingos as possible.
Here’s are other views from the week:
Sunset on a cloudy day.
I loved how the sunset reflected on the trees.
A view of snow covered hills on a morning walk in the neighborhood.
The cardinal hanging out on a rock.
Other exciting news. We got our dishwasher installed. We got the solar approved. I turned on the breakers to the solar and the house didn’t blow up. I was more than concerned about that!
I went to a lunch with a very energizing and encouraging speaker. I almost groaned when the waiters served the typical chicken lunch. But it was the best chicken banquet meal I’ve ever had. Tender, juicy and flavorful with tons of veggies. Good speaker, good lunch. I feel spoiled.
What are some of the highlights from your week so far?
We’ve lost three saguaros since we’ve moved here. The fourth one went down last week.
I was sitting by the window in the casita and glanced outside as a huge saguaro crashed to the ground. I was glad I wasn’t standing in the way! That was the first one we lost.
We called a cactus doctor and he walked around our yard diagnosing saguaros.
He found one with a disease and he recommended having it removed or the disease would spread to our other saguaros. That project included not only paying the cactus doctor, but getting a permit from the city. An inspector came out to look at the saguaro and signed off on the permit. Then we had to hire another company to cut down the saguaro and remove it. That was saguaro number two that bit the dust.
The third was in the front yard and one of our only ones with arms. It was turning brown from the base that was slowly creeping up. The cactus doctor told us we’d need to brace it if we wanted to keep it. A neighbor told us that the previous owners had that saguaro treated for something a couple times. One day we walked out the front door and it was down.
Then last week after all the rain and a big wind, this smaller one was laying on the ground. The cactus doctor told us that once they fall they are traumatized and can’t make it if they’re replanted. In spite of his words, I wish we would have tried to replant the first one that fell.
We asked our gardener to try to save this guy. There’s a crack along the crown but we hope it lives.
This saguaro has been given a chance to live.
What special plants or trees do you have that need attention?
My son, his girlfriend and my daughter spoiled me with a pile of gifts for my birthday. The packages arrived all week and I was instructed not to touch or open anything. On my birthday morning, my husband stacked the gifts on the counter in our casita.
This whole pile is to make a cup of coffee. That’s right. All these items are used for “Pour Over” coffee. When I last went to Berkeley to help my son post foot surgery, I learned the arduous task of pour overs. The first time I made coffee my son said to me, “You didn’t let this bloom long enough.”
It did taste bitter, a side effect of not enough “bloom.”
If you’re curious what was in all the packages, the big bag held the grinder. The smaller packages included Ethiopian beans, a scale, a bowl to put on the scale to weigh the beans, a glass carafe to make and hold the coffee, coffee filters, a platter to put under the grinder (from a Finnish artist — since I’m of Finnish descent) and a special kettle with a thermometer on it to get hot water at the exactly correct temperature.
Here are the presents unwrapped — the Pour Over paraphernalia.
Why did they choose to give me pour over coffee equipment? It’s because at my son’s house, I began to enjoy the process of making coffee every morning. When I returned home, I called my son and said that my Keurig coffee — even the special Starbuck’s Holiday Blend — was tasteless. I could have been drinking water.
Here’s the secret recipe to making a good cup of pour over coffee:
Fill the kettle with water and turn on the burner.
Weigh 30 grams of beans in the small bowl.
Put a filter on the Chemex carafe.
Place the carafe on the scale.
Grind the beans right before the water is at the correct temperature.
Pour hot water into the filter to get it wet.
Pour water out of the carafe.
Place ground coffee into the wet filter.
Pour 60 grams of hot water from the kettle over the coffee grinds — making sure it’s all wet.
Let it “bloom” for several minutes. Bubbles will appear on the surface of the grinds.
Pour 100 grams of hot water onto the filter holding the ground coffee beans.
Wait for the coffee to drip.
Repeat three more times.
The result is an excellent, bold, full flavored cup of coffee! There’s something about the process that is relaxing and satisfying. Otherwise, it would be too much work — even for superior tasting coffee.
A friend from Palm Springs called with birthday wishes. I asked her if she knew about “Pour Over” coffee. She said, “Yes. My two son-in-laws have all that stuff. The glass carafe, the coffee grinder. I have to get to work in the morning. I drink a cup of instant.”
We met friends at a restaurant for my birthday dinner. They walked in with a huge wrapped gift. It reminded me of when I was a child and I’d get a large doll in a big box! I was so excited.
What was in the box? Pink flamingos. Now I need to find a home for them in the yard!
Have you heard of Pour Over coffee? Have you tried it? What are your thoughts of pink flamingos?
We woke up to two inches of snow yesterday, which quickly melted.
My kids went to Palm Springs High School, one of several high schools in our district. They had a longtime principal who was popular with students and teachers alike. I think the main reason the teachers liked him is he left them alone. He didn’t get in their way of creating curriculum or classroom management.
He retired and a principal was moved from another high school in the district. The new principal immediately made changes. His first move was to tell established AP teachers they would be moved to general ed classes. He was going to appoint new teachers to the AP classes.
He wanted the excellent AP teachers, who had been there for years, to help students who were struggling. The kids in College Prep and AP would do just fine no matter who taught them.
However, he didn’t realize that some courses like AP Calc or AP Chem could not be taught by anyone!
The teachers were furious. They had taught their courses — in some cases — dozens of years. They had developed their curriculum and loved what they were doing.
Parents were asked to go to a meeting with teachers and the superintendent. The teachers wanted our support. It was one of those meetings where parents and teachers voiced their concerns, but we realized the superintendent and principal’s minds were made up. The meeting was a weak attempt to appease us.
Two excellent teachers, the AP Chemistry and AP History teachers, resigned. They decided to retire.
Then the new principal announced reassignment of the Latin teacher to teach English. She had created a four-year Latin program which was used as a model throughout California.
The other high schools in the district didn’t offer Latin, so it would be eliminated at Palm Springs High School. That’s only fair, right?
We had a standing-room only meeting with the school board. Here’s an excerpt from an article in the local paper The Desert Sun about the controversy:
The Latin language isn’t dead, at least not in Palm Springs. Some community members are fighting to keep it that way.
Parents, teachers and current and former students showed up to speak at Tuesday’s Palm Springs Unified board meeting, outraged by the reassignment of Palm Springs High School’s beloved Latin teacher. Svetlana Lazarova has been teaching all levels of Latin for more than two decades, and according to students and parents, Palm Springs High School administration informed Lazarova of her departmental transfer on the very last day of school.
“My greatest concern is how it was handled,” said Anne Hebert, a teacher at Palm Springs High School. “She was told within one hour before the end of the school year that she would be an English teacher.”
Lazarova joined the Latin program at Palm Springs High School in 1993. When she started, there were eight students in her class. Twenty years later, enrollment was up to 200 students across six classes. According to a 2013 interview with the California Teachers Association, she gave up her prep period to accommodate the high demand.
But students say the popularity of her class never prevented her from mentoring students individually. Lazarova’s first year students start with the basics of Latin grammar and vocabulary. By the end of the fourth year, they’re able to navigate the worlds built by Cicero’s prose and Virgil’s poetry.
I’m happy to let you know we won and Lazarova still teaches Latin at Palm Springs High. The new principal was either fired or transferred.
In current news, students in Virginia who earned National Merit Awards weren’t told about them because it might hurt other students. It reminded me of the Latin controversy at PSHS.
What do you think about cutting out courses in high schools like Latin so all schools are the same? Or not informing kids of their National Merit awards?
