Catching Up

Gentle Reader,

I have all kinds of blog posts swirling around in my head. But this move, plus the time change, plus the humidity, plus the flurry of activity right before we left, plus the red-eye flight with a cat on my lap yowling from one end of the country to the other, has left me a bit fatigued. What with the piles of boxes to be unpacked and the house to get in order, I still have miles to go before I sleep.  But in the meantime, here's a little of what's been going on in our world:

We packed up our California house and then waited with baited breath in the empty shell of our former home, 

for our buyers to wrap up the financing and close the deal.

And they did. And we moved into a hotel.

The lovely and hospitable San Vicente Inn right in our own backyard.

Here you see Brother McBride giving Sam the Eagle Challenge.

Then Sam came home from his High Adventure in Sequoia and Jenny Lakes and parts thereabouts

and we held his Eagle Court of Honor.

This was an accomplishment in itself --many thanks to the kind Scouting Moms

who helped me with refreshments and set-up. And the many kind and thoughtful ward members who helped with the planning and technical set-up on one week's notice.

And here you see his fearless leader, Wurzel preparing to present him with the actual Eagle Badge.

And that's his proud Mama standing by.

After the Eagle Court of Honor and some tearful good-byes, we zipped off to the San Diego Airport to

catch the red-eye to New York City.

Sam and the cat are portraying how we all felt after our exhausting journey.

Shane looks like he's in shock.

We were all happy to see our new house.

And begin the work of turning it into a home.

The craft room will have to wait--it's low on the priority list.

The front entry.

The kitchen looking into the breakfast nook.

Andy's office--he's pretty happy about it.

By the way kids, Dad got a letter published in the Wall Street Journal!

It came out the day we arrived in Connecticut. 

You can see it here.

It's about two of his favorite topics:

Italy and gelato.

The yard is a little over-grown but these hydrangeas are blooming beautifully.

And this my friends, is going to be my new garden spot.

Some intrepid raspberries and blueberries are  growing here.

I have some work to do but look at that lush

forest in the background! We are a little partial to green so I think we

will be able to adapt to our new home.

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.

Day Five...

...still on the island.

Checking out the local flora and fauna: 

Lovely ripe tomatoes and fresh-grown basil

went into a delicious caprese salad...

served in our fine china

This creature skulks about the island eyeing us warily.

She is a great huntress and could be the key

to our survival. So far only our dog "Friday" indulges

in the tidbits of mouse innards she leaves for us.

But if this marooning goes on too long...

who knows what we may resort to.

Mutiny on the Island

Day Four on our deserted island:

The crew have made the best of the sleeping arrangements. 

On the morning of day four, Sam awoke, stumbled sleepily into the kitchen and reached into the freezer for the Toaster Strudel. A rare treat around here which he earned for enduring to the end in seminary. He had rationed them carefully and was looking forward to one for breakfast. He stepped over to the spot where the toaster has perched faithfully  all the mornings we have lived here.

 But it was gone:

What?!

I knew we had the toaster from the cabin packed and headed to Connecticut so the extra toaster here was just that--extra. 

In a fit of efficiency I had given it away.

And pushed Sam over the edge. 

"The toaster? Really? Why the toaster? How am I supposed to toast my

toaster strudel without a toaster?!"

Luckily he is a good Scout and he devised another way to toast the strudel.

Crisis averted for the moment.

The threat of mutiny arose again a few hours later when Shane went to make toast

and noticed the missing appliance.

I feel the tension.

The crew could turn on me at any moment.

They have the dog on their side--they feed him and play fetch with him.

I am certainly outnumbered.

I shall have to keep a sharp eye out. A sharp eye.

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!

Found

I am mostly finished with the packing around these parts. But I have a few decisions still to make about "pack and take" or "get rid of". I had put that off with these suits that were left in the upstairs closet--one by our currently serving missionary and the other by our recently returned missionary. I was trying to see into the future and determine if Sam might need them for a back up (it's happened before when I forgot to pick up the dry cleaning --oops!). Also in my future-gazing I was debating whether Sam would pass his older brothers in height, rendering the suits useless.

 Except in the event of a flood.

That seems to be the direction things are going--Sam passed Seth up and seems to wake up taller every day. So, I was ready to find a new home for the suits.

As I tossed them onto the chair, I saw something peeking out of the inside jacket pocket.

It was Elder Gale's last planning book. Filled with Hmong names and appointments and some funny drawings. Also in the pocket was the flight information and boarding pass for his trip home.

So I checked the other pockets and found 

his name tag, 

where he had tucked it away after his official release from missionary service.

I'm glad I discovered that missionary suit jacket time capsule before I sent it off to its next life.

Today's Post Brought to You by the Letter C

After some nerve-wracking negotiations, it looks like we will have a place to live on the other side of the continent. I thought it was interesting to note that we have a consistent pattern when it comes to places we've lived: they all start with the letter C.

Oh! But wait, you may say--you started out in Provo. The only  letter C we see is in CRAZY!

But play along folks...

                         Chicken Coop (see what I did there?)

                                           Clark County (the trailer house--I mean "mobile home")

Camas

Cabin

California

and now... Connecticut!

Who knows what's ahead for us...Colorado?
                                   Canada? 
                                   Constantinople? 

Fast Forward

I enjoyed some time last week with these two little darlins:

"My parents are going to find me a unicorn house." Bailey informed me when I told

her that Mom and Dad were looking for a new house in New Jersey.

We had fun at the park and enjoyed building a fort out of the couch cushions.

"Can you help me?" was the sweet request of little Norah many times a day.

And Nana was happy to help.

One night Norah couldn't get to sleep so I got her up and rocked her and sang "I am a Child of God" to her.

She laid her head on my shoulder and relaxed and then she said:

"Go bed now, Nana. I go bed now."

When I laid her down in her crib she rolled over and went to sleep.

Awww good times.

In the meantime, things have been snowballing on the homefront. 

We put our cabin on the market just to see if there would be any nibbles.

And it sold within the week.

I was hoping it would at least take as long as the California house to sell.

But no, that vixen of a cabin lured in buyers the minute they saw her alluring pictures on Craigslist.

The Pollyanna in me is trying to play the Glad Game and be happy about that but I'm not quite there yet.

Then, we FINALLY got an offer on the hacienda here in Cali. 

I had to do some long-distance paperwork but we got everything agreed upon and

now it looks like the waiting game is over.

We are in full packing mode.

Bring on the chaos.

And that means I will bid farewell to another garden.

To top it all off, my baby girl grew up and left home.

Shayla is off to Washington to have an adventure restoring her 1971 Nova with Grampa Gale.

Then from there to Provo to fulfill her BYU dreams.

She left me outnumbered--even the dog is a boy.

I don't remember giving her permission to grow up.

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.

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!

An Unusual Encounter in the QFC Parking Lot

I have been a little preoccupied with packing and preparing for the big move so I haven't written for awhile-- for that, gentle reader, I apologize. But let me tell you of an odd experience I had today. I ran to the store for milk and watermelon--the two summer staples of the Gale Family. I also picked up some "trail mix"--no sugar, no salt because I have been eating only fresh, unprocessed, pure and natural foods of late. (And I have lost TEN POUNDS--but some of that might be because of all the frenzied packing and cleaning and hauling of huge amounts of heavy stuff to the D.I. trailer). If you want to see what changed my life go to: originalfastfoods.com. Wow-- I really got off on a tangent there.

So, as I was heading to the car, a young man was walking toward me. I went into full alert. (A little known fact: my Dad taught me karate when I was a wee lass and I have an automatic response to someone approaching my personal space--just a warning--don't ever sneak up on me unannounced. I can't be responsible for my cat-like reflexes in the face of perceived danger!) But, back to the guy walking toward me. He began to talk: "I feel awkward telling you this but my car broke down and I tried to call someone but I can't get ahold of anyone. Can you help me? Even just some change would be great." I observed him closely as he talked, simultaneously sizing him up to see if I could throw him on the ground and beat the living daylights of him with the large watermelon I had in my arms, if necessary. He was clean-cut and well-dressed, tatoo on right side calf, some redness in his eyes.

I faced him and looked him in the eye and replied: "I have read about people like you scamming people for money-- are you lying to me?" "Oh no, my Grandpa lives up on the Lewis River, I am from around here, I just need help-- I can't get my car started..."
I said, "My husband is out of work and we have 5 kids that depend on us for food--if I give money to a scammer, I'm taking food out of their mouths."
I put my groceries in the car and then I took a dollar out of my purse. He had started to walk away. I said, in my firm, no-nonsense Mom Voice: "I'm giving you this because I believe in the Bible and it says 'Turn not away the beggar', if you are lying to me, let God be the judge." He looked at the ground and mumbled a thank you and walked away.