A Semi-Annual Update

Well, how have you been? I've been caught up in the day-to-day of life. Moving, then not moving. Packing like a mad woman and then not packing like a mad woman. Enjoying new grandchildren--joy and rejoicing and all of the good stuff. Serving in my calling, feeling the love and partaking of the wisdom of amazing Relief Society women. Allowing for the mourning process of leaving this place I have come to love. I think I am an East Coaster somewhere deep down, even though I am born and bred of Pocatello, Idaho and parts thereabout. I have sent some sobbing prayers to heaven asking why I had to come to love the people and the history and beauty here and now I have to leave. But you know I also sent sobbing prayers to heaven when I had to leave Washington and then again California so I'm starting to get the idea that I am supposed to be learning something here. Perhaps that there are amazing people yet to meet and love and vistas ahead to appreciate and more history to be learned.

Luckily, I am an (annoying) optimist so I am looking on the bright side.

Which is a little easier with the bone-chilling arctic weather we have been 

enduring here as of late. 

California sunshine, here I come.

Eventually.

In the meantime, we have two offers on the house and we are just waiting for the paperwork and etc. to work their way through the various bureaucracies. We'll see which one comes out on top.

While we are waiting, I offer a pictorial timeline for your viewing pleasure:

I started taking pictures of the places I love around here so I can hold them

in my heart and see them in my picture file too.

This is the unique, historical building that is home to our

local paper: The Newtown Bee.

The bee on the roof and the bee on the door...just... too awesome.

Christmas came and went....Shane and I felt the need to have a

real tree this year. Christmas Spirit was in short supply with 

everyone spread out across the country.

 We brought home a beautiful, fresh tree and

the amazing pine smell was magical.

We spent actual Christmas in the Golden State. Here you see our

Christmas Eve dinner. Andy saved the day by finding a beautiful spot on the 

beach right next to this awesome diner. So we enjoyed our yummy

food as we watched the sun go down over the ocean.

A perfect California Christmas...

...was made even better with some family time talking with

our missionaries. Sister Gale serving in the Illinois, Chicago West Mission

and

Elder Gale serving in the California, Los Angeles Mission. We were able to get

everyone on our Google Hangout and I loved listening to the family banter and the

grandchildren chiming in. Sam gave us a sampling of his Spanish and they both

shared experiences and testimonies. 

A few days after Christmas, we got to see family and friends in our

old ward in Ramona, California. We were there for the very special

occasion of the Blessing of our precious Mabel.

Look how adorable she is in the dress her Mama wore.

We enjoyed our time there and the Horton family hosted us

for dinner and entertainment. 

They are always fun to hang out with.

A few weeks after Christmas,

I zipped down to North Carolina for some daughter/grandbaby time. 

I love that we get to be friends now. 

One of the many rewards of mothering awesome kids.

Cuteness Alert! 

Message in a Bottle

Day 7


Our days as castaways are coming to an end. Our S.O.S. was heard and we received a message--not really in a bottle but on the laptop--that we have a closing date! Early Sunday morning I got word that the buyers were coming by for the final inspection to make sure all of the repairs were done to their satisfaction. I was getting ready for our 9:00 am church and still had the task ahead of dragging out two teenage boys and nagging them into their suits and into the car. Could we not have been given a bit more of a warning? I was told it was going to be last Tuesday. Then it was going to be Wednesday. So of course when I gave up and let things fall into post-school, summer's here, frat party mess; then I get the call that it's really happening. I looked around and noted the pizza crusts and paper plates all over the kitchen along with petrified mac and cheese in our one cruddy sauce pan and several styrofoam bowls. Not my finest hour as a homemaker. I gathered up newspapers and opened the front door to take them out to the trash. That's when I noticed the lovely gifts our resident critter catcher had left for us. Not one but TWO piles of rat remains. Ninja had a busy Saturday night. She  likes to leave the severed tail as part of the lovely presentation and if the tail is any indication, one of those rats was bigger than the cat! Added to the charm: both piles of goo were covered with ants.  

Not the front door greeting I wanted for our buyers. 

So I  got to scrape up rat guts with ants crawling up my arms all while dressed in my Sunday Best. But the good news is--things are moving forward and we sign this week! Then we get off this deserted island and head out for our next adventure.  

Killing Time

Day Six:

Here on the island, time feels like this:

And it looks like this:

The blank spot on the wall where the clock used to be.

I look up there a dozen times a day and wonder what time it is.

We know the closing of this chapter of our lives is imminent, but someone tore out the last page of the book.

We know HOW it ends, we just don't know WHEN.

 We are at the mercy of all the other people involved in the escrow.

A real estate agent, a mortgage broker, a loan officer, a notary public, an appraiser. 

So we wait for some clue--an email, a phone call.

 A message in a bottle.

Castaways

It's day three on this deserted island:

The last POD carrying the last of our belongings was hauled away on Monday. Here we are, abandoned to the mercies of a harsh real estate and financial climate. Our buyers want to buy, we of course want to sell. But we are all battling the hurricanes of red tape that California is known for. What can you do when you are in a state where the governor thought the debt was 9 billion one month and then realized it was actually 16 billion a few months later? Reason and good sense do not dwell here in the government. And that seems to have filtered down to the other bureaucracies.  So, we are doing our best to wait out the storms, and 

survive until that rescue boat arrives. 

In the meantime, we have our trusty dog Friday (or "Wilson" if you prefer the more modern version)

Defending us against the indigenous critters: 

I will fill you in on our adventures:

Mutiny!

Cannibals!

Making a radio out of coconuts!

Unsettled

Once again the Gale Family is in a state of limbo. Waiting. Wondering. Our provider and protector is on the other side of the country while we hold down the fort here. Actually, we are trying to sell the fort here. Anyone looking for a nice family home in a warm, sunny locale? Palm trees swaying in the breeze right in the back yard? Surrounded by great people and minutes from beautiful beaches? Disneyland is less than two hours away. Is it snowing and cold where you are? Today it's  70 degrees, blue skies and warm sunshine here. Just in case you are looking to relocate.

I have been continuing to pack--I assume that we will eventually move. Our house feels a little barren and we keep saying-- "We'll do that when we get moved". It's a strange, detached dimension we live in. It happened to us last time there was a change in employment and I was hoping not to have that challenge ever again. It just might be  that my need for consistency means I need to be tested and tried--to be pushed out of that comfort zone. So I am forward, pressing forward while trying to maintain consistency in the things that matter most. Our ward is kindly still including us and the kids have plenty of activities to keep us busy.

And I decided to go ahead and plant the garden. I was feeling a little stingy last spring when I thought the house would sell by summer's end and I didn't want to do all of the sowing and not get any of the reaping. Selfish I know. So I am repenting and renewing. I am willing to "come what may and love it". It felt good to be out in the dirt. I pruned the pear tree and pulled weeds. Shane hauled some mulch for me and Gunner ran around and barked and chased off any and all intruders (insects, lizards and birds).

Each day is a gift wherever we are. I am soaking up the sunshine while I can. We can look back with gratitude and see the Lord's guiding hand in our lives up to this point and I have the surety of faith that we will sell the house and get on to the next thing all in good time. By the way the orange tree we planted when we first moved here died. The roots were devoured by ravenous moles. Being the cock-eyed optimist that I am, I yanked it out and planted a new one. I may not see my own harvest of oranges but I have certainly enjoyed the generous harvest of the good people here who have shared their oranges with us.

Stuff We Did This Summer

Some quilting for sweet grandbabies:

Some precious time with this sweet grandbaby:

And his sweet Mama:

Some dog wrestling:

And dog snuggling...

Some changes are coming for the Gale Family:

Some changes that involve packing.

Lots of packing.

Again.

The hardest part of packing without a known move date?

Packing up the books.

I want to have them all at my disposal.

Ready and waiting should the need arise

to answer a question or satisfy a curiosity.

So I have done it slowly and reluctantly.

Keeping most of our favorite go-to books out

til the last minute.

Our destination?

Connecticut--you know--the other side of the country.

Then we watched this...

and it inspired this purchase:

Which inspired more of this

around the house (and in us):

Which led to busting out the wheat grinder:

And a real change for the better in healthy eating.

At least for me--the youngsters are reluctant converts.

But I'm getting better at sneaking the good stuff in. Shhhh.

As summer was winding down,

we set up the classroom for a new school year:

And then I decided it was time for Fall.

82 degrees? 

Whatever.

A change in seasons will be something to look forward to.

I Beg Your Pardon, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

But I did promise you an update on my garden! True to my word, here it is...

After two weeks away, I wasn't sure what would be left of my garden--what with the rabbits and the moles and the birds and the snails. I came home to this:

The mist was a little mysterious this morning...

The giant sunflowers got so top heavy, they hung their heads wearily toward each other.

These just keep popping up randomly--some kind of mum.

A fresh batch of sunflowers!

The tomatoes are ripening by the bushel
 (Like any good produce manager, I carefully arranged them so each one is showing her best side!)

Just the big ones--I'm not that OCD...

This crazy squash got a little carried away

Seth is the arm model here--we really wanted you to

see just how big it got and the tomato wasn't doing it justice!

This was my favorite surprise when I got back:

CANTALOUPE!!

And lots of them--I had to replant them three times in

my battle with the bunnies.

I win.

A Little Gardening Bliss

Just have to say, California is great for gardening!

Once you figure out a good watering system.

 We are big on sunshine and short on rain around here.

Left-overs from last year's flowers sprouted up again--a nice surprise!

Apples and Oranges

Gentle Reader,
This week marks the one-year anniversary in our new home, in our new state. The three weeks preceding mark the one-year anniversary of overstaying our welcome in a somewhat seedy hotel waiting for our bank to give us the OK on our house. My how time flies!

So, here we are after so many years in the rainy, damp, moist forests of the Northwest, living in the sunny, warm, dry desert of SoCal. From time to time I get asked how we are liking it here, are we getting acclimated, fitting in? It's a funny thing--the places are very different--it's like comparing apples and oranges: crisp, delicious Washington apples and juicy, sweet California oranges. For so long I thought apples were the best--only apples for this gal. I figured I'd just live out my life eating apples and die happy--and damp up there in the great Northwest. But clearly, the Lord had other plans for us.

At first, I kept looking for apples here. Where are the apples I know and love? I'll live in this new place but give me what I am familiar with. In fact, the first thing I did, before we even finished unpacking, was visit the local garden center. I asked the proprietor if they had apple trees. She informed me that apples do not grow here. It's too warm and dry. But, on one of my first trips to Costco in California I saw ORANGE TREES for sale. Well, if I can't have an apple tree,  I thought, by darn I'll plant an orange tree. So I did.

The orange tree has a way to go before it puts down roots and settles in enough to produce oranges. But it blossomed this spring and it's getting there. I'm feeling the same way.

California Dreamin'

If you were tired of the winter weather and thought it might

be nice to go someplace sunny and warm...

Don't come here.

Although we still have our sunny dispositions and our warm welcome,

the weather is quite the opposite!

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Along with all the other adjustments to relocating to a new state, comes the adjustment to the cost of living. People here cheerfully refer to it as the "Sun Tax". Personally, I would like a little less sun and I'll keep some of that money thank you very much.

But--here we are.

So, the electric bill came the other day sending my guy into a frenzy. He was shocked and appalled at the high price we have to pay to light our way in the dark. He tossed the bill onto the counter and began the war on waste. He blustered up and down the halls looking for any stray light or fan that might be functioning without humans in the vicinity.

He took a short break from this frenzy of activity to

research the cost of electricity in our last home and do a cost comparison. He was even more distressed to find out that California rates are FOUR TIMES HIGHER!

I think he would have been better off not knowing that.

As the assault on frivolous electrical use continued, he asked for a schedule of our daily comings and goings so he could set the thermostat to only be on when we are here.

My schedule of comings and goings took two pages--and that was just Monday.

Being the dedicated accounting and finance guy that he is, he managed to distill that into a very delicate ballet of cool air consumption. Precision tuned to cool us only at the bare minimum.

He put the family on notice that there would be no more frolicking in the cool breezes of unrestrained air conditioning. No more frivolous sitting in lighted rooms.

We are all team players.

We want to be helpful.

We want Dad's forehead vein to stop pulsating.

And so we are all on board with the new campaign to lower the electric bill.

In fact, every prayer offered yesterday--from the blessing on the food to our final family prayer--included a humble plea for help with our endeavor.

Today when Sam was studying science he had a eureka moment,

a light went on in his head. And someone snapped: "Turn that off."

Just Another Day at the Beach

That's Seth, Shayla and Sam in the surf.

Like how I caught the bird in mid-takeoff? Totally accidental.

Gentle Reader,

My apologies for the recent lapse in posts. A little something I call CALIFORNIA RED TAPE has taken over my life. Oh, how California loves its rules and regulations. I had no idea how laid back (and actually, I'm sure California would call it: LAZY) Washington state is. I mean really--they aren't even really trying. A rule here, a suggestion there--but mostly they just leave most things up to the common sense of the sensible people and call it a day. But, just like the sunshine here in California, the bureaucracy is relentless. From what I can tell, its purpose is to take our minds off the fact that we are living in the middle of a disaster nightmare. Just today as we drove to the beach (a short, 20 minute jaunt) I heard on the radio:

Flash floods in Ramona

Mudslide blocks a road to Julian

The biggest fire in LA is 20% contained (this was good news)

8 other fires continue to burn

Hurricane Jemena hit the Baja peninsula

I'm still trying to adjust to the fact that our governor is THE TERMINATOR--it's his voice chanting over the radio : "We need watah! We need watah! We need watah!" and

"Fiah here, fiah there, we haf fiahs everywheah!"

All this while I was driving past signs that said:

CAUTION: Falling Rocks

CAUTION: Flash Flood Area

CAUTION: Earthquakes
(just kidding--there wasn't a sign for that--earthquakes are a given)

We got to the beach.

The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky, a balmy 78 degrees.

A lovely breeze ruffles my hair.

I breathe in the salty sea air.

Earthquakes? Fires? Floods?

Whatever.

A Moving Experience

I have been a little busy lately trying to bring order to chaos--something I find very satisifying. Each box I empty is another step closer to making this house a home.

I am still mourning the loss of my pictures so I decided to paint a picture today with the proverbial "thousand words". Let's see how that goes!

Here you see the driveway of our cabin in Washougal the day we were leaving:

Note the hail on the ground in big drifts--

There is our car all loaded up with kids and all their

stuff. Sam is making a funny face and Seth looks very

serious. The cats are tucked into their carriers. They

look a little nervous.

The weather made it easier to look forward to California sun!

Next, a picture of the black cat. The kids decided to name him Tuna:

He's stretched up on the dashboard, looking out the

windshield as we drive. He seemed to enjoy the long drive in the car.

Here's a picture of the front of someone's car:

The youngsters took this picture in the parking lot of

a big gas station/fast food complex.

It's a poor bird that got hit and then stuck in a

perfect, wing-spread pose in the front grille.

Look at the pretty yellow feathers!

You're probably glad about now that that picture got lost!

Here's a picture of Lucy:

See his eyes glowing in the dark?

He jumped out of the car when we

stopped at our hotel on the 1st leg

of our journey. We tried to hook a leash

to his harness but he slipped away from us.

We were all so worried, but Sam caught him

and Dad put the leash back on.

The last rest stop before our new hometown:

Here you see a picture of a

beautiful sunset over the

ocean. Seth is the photographer.

Then, he took a picture of himself

with the sunset in the background.

And that concludes the word pictorial of our journey from our home in Washington,

to our new home in sunny California!

A Love/Hate Relationship

This post was supposed to be a pictorial on our recent migration from our long-time home in the Northwest to our new home in Southern California. I had lots of great pictures. I downloaded them to my computer.

Then they disappeared.

I admit I am not very computer savvy but I haven't had a problem with my pictures before. I really wanted the pictures back, so I went on HP's online live chat "Help". My cheerful helper was named Aliji. I wonder where he's from? He seemed happy to help me resolve my Mystery of the Disappearing Pictures. He said things like

"I am happy to begin the help with your problem and get it resolved."

He answered many of my explanations with:

"OKAY!"

Then he asked me to click on "My Computer"

My PC doesn't have "My Computer" it just has the very

succinct: Computer

I clicked on it and it didn't come up with the things on the toolbar that Aliji thought I should have.

Then my computer crashed.

CRASHED!

So I am on Andy's laptop venting my frustration at technology:

Technology, you can be so helpful most of the time, what happened?

It's me, isn't it.

In Transition

I'm reporting this evening from sunny southern California. I will have to change my blog description--we are no longer in a cabin. I could say: "A gal, her guy, 4 kids, & 2 cats in a car" but that would be temporary. Hopefully soon it will be: "A gal, her guy, 4 kids & 2 cats back in civilization". (I know the old one says "8" kids--but technically 4 of those 8 kids have grown up and moved out to college and marriage and other such grown-up stuff.) I'll have to think about that.

Our State of Limbo Ends and a New State Beckons

House hunting long distance has been an adventure. Andy did the leg work ahead of time and narrowed down the possibilities. The possibilities came to exactly TWO. I flew to San Diego for a day and looked at the two. One had nine acres, the other had a postage stamp yard. The choice was easy. But it felt strange to make such a big decision with so few choices. It was a nice house with a few quirks and was short one bedroom. But we had to make it work so I resigned myself to look at the positives and get on with the move. This was the house:When we knew we were going to California, I had visions of a big garden that would produce year-round with the beautiful, sunny climate. My first priority upon entering the house was to walk through to the backyard and check the soil conditions. I was informed that the soil was crushed granite. So...I was going from cement-like clay in my Northwest garden to crushed rock. I am a resilient woman. I began to make plans for raised beds and imagined the many wheelbarrows of soil and manure I would be hauling up to our mountaintop fortress:
But I came home still feeling like it wasn't the home for us. I did not want to be ungrateful. I also kept thinking that maybe a family like ours had a home they would need to sell. And it would come on the market before our "get out of contract free" deadline came up. And that is exactly what happened! Just hours before the deadline. Andy went to see it with our realtor and sent me pictures taken with his cell phone:

This house was in the same area--the same ward. It has the same amazing views. But it has all the bedrooms we need for our four children at home. And room for the four that are away from home to come and visit. And any friends and relations that might want to come see us too.
(That's a guest apartment over the garage)


Oh, and it was priced lower.



It is also a bit less desolate.

The kitchen is roomier and more big family friendly.

The pool looks inviting.

So, come and see us.