September Musings - Tuesday 4 Questions

Here are the Tuesday 4 questions for this week.  They certainly are a thought-provoking.  

How about now? September is still a new beginning to  the year.  What will it hold for you? 

I am hoping that September will bring cooler temperatures and nice fall colors as the leaves begin to change.

As summer's heat fades do you get out and about in nature often?  Where do you go, what do you do?  What would you like to do?

I love to go for walks and hikes and as the temperatures cool, I will do more walking around the neighborhood.  I also hope to do a little hiking - maybe in Southern Utah. 

What has changed in your life that you miss/regret the most?

I miss having my children young and in my home all the time. This is a picture from 1998, and was one of my favorite times with all four of my children still living at home. We were a complete family.  I know that time must pass and children grow up, but I miss my little children.  Of course, I made many mistakes as a parent, as all parents do, but I did my best and I know that God knows my heart.   I also miss living in Southern California, as we did when the children were younger.  When we moved from Southern California to  Arizona in 2001, my oldest daughter was in her first year of college, my second daughter was a senior in high school, my oldest son was in 5th grade and Josh was just starting kindergarten. 

We had a beautiful home in Southern California with a lovely yard.  This is a picture of that home now. It was a different color and did not have the fence or palm trees when we lived there. When we lived in Southern California, we were a one-income family and the companies that Charly worked for kept getting bought out and Charly would be laid off.  This happened three times in three years.  

We also needed a larger home for our family, and we could sell our home in California for much more than a larger, newer home in Arizona cost us. This is the home we bought in Arizona. It was quite a bit bigger than our house in California. I was also offered a job in a K-12 charter school in Arizona where both of our boys could attend while I taught. It seemed like a "no brainer" decision at the time.  Things didn't work out exactly as we had planned but that is not to say that I regret moving from Southern California all those years ago.  We prayed about it and felt that it was what God was telling us to do, and we don't know how things would have turned out if we had stayed in California.  Still, for all it's faults (literally and figuratively), Southern California is a beautiful place and the people we got to know there were some of the nicest we have ever met. 

3.  Money is no object, nothing stands in your way.. are you going to move  or stay where you are?

This last summer, we purchased a home in Southern Utah (Ivins, Utah - near St. George) which we will move to when I retire in 1-2 years.  This is a picture of it. We are renting the home out until I retire and we move there. So far, that is working out well.  

The 70-year-old home where we currently live (pictured above) is one we purchased in 2016.  It is a nice home, with many lovely features, but the neighborhood is not as good as we were hoping it would be.  The home also has too many steps and stairs for an older couple with bad knees, bad backs and arthritis.  

4.  How can you improve your life?

I can improve my life by changing my mindset to be more positive and looking for the good with gratitude.  I am better than I used to be, but I still need to do better.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Feel free to join in and answer the Tuesday 4 questions by linking up here.  

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Yesterday is gone. 

Tomorrow has not yet come.

We have only today. 

Let us begin."

~Mother Teresa

Currently on a Sunday Evening

 

The weather - hot, hazy and windy. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. That would be good. We need it. 

I'm wearing - jean shorts and my new gray July 4th Old Navy t-shirt.

I'm reading - Signs and Wonders by Philip Gulley, third book in his lovely and humorous Harmony series.

Charly and I listened to and finished these two audiobooks in the car during our recent California road trip.  Both were good. 

I'm watching - The Chosen. We watch an episode every Sunday night. 

I'm listening to - the washing machine Josh just started a load of clothes - presumably work clothes he will need tomorrow morning.  

In the garden - Josh kept everything in my little container garden watered and alive while Charly and I were in California. What a great guy he is! I haven't done much in the garden this year, but I did retrieve and repot the mums I put on family graves on Memorial Day.  We have enjoyed some lovely, delicious strawberries from plants I planted last year.  I am also hoping to get some tomato plants in this week.  

In the kitchen - all is cleaned up and quiet for the evening.  Earlier, I fixed tacos for dinner and also prepared a steak I had in the fridge which Charly and Josh split.  Both said they enjoyed the steak - especially the carne asada seasoning I used on it. 

Coming up this week - a two day training (Tuesday and Wednesday) on our district proficiency based grading scale.  If that doesn't sound exciting, I don't know what does.😉 At least the district is paying teachers extra to attend the full two-day training. 

On my mind - all of the things on my summer "to-do" list, as well as more summer travel planned. 

Also thinking about the nice California vacation we got home from yesterday.  It is always a little bitter sweet to come home after a road trip where we made some good memories.  One memory was a little hike we did at the very end of our trip.  We stopped at a rest area on Donner Pass (about six miles from where the infamous Donner Party spent the treacherous winter of 1847).  After using the facilities, we spied at trail head plaque and went over to investigate.  We (I) couldn't resist doing a short hike on Donner pass, which was actually part of the much longer Pacific Coast Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada. The short loop we did was less than a mile, but it was a lovely little hike and a great opportunity to stretch our legs and say goodbye to California, until our next visit.  Here are are some pictures of the Glacier Meadows Trail.  

Weekend Gratitude:

• Safe travels on our vacation
• Seeing amazing things in California
• Meeting up with friends in California
• Having the means to make the trip
• Having a reliable vehicle 
• Health
• An opportunity to make some extra money this week
• More summer travel planned

Thanks for stopping by. Here's hoping for many positive and happy things for everyone in the coming week.  😀

🙏💙Deb💛🙏

"It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts."

~Robert Schuller

Yosemite National Park

One day of our California vacation, we drove to Yosemite National Park and spent the day there. Here are some of the pictures I took of this beautiful place on Thursday, June 9, 2022. 

We had a truly lovely time at Yosemite and hope that we can return soon.  

Thanks for stopping by to share our trip to awe inspiring Yosemite National Park. 

🙏💙Deb💛🙏

"Yosemite is a place of rest, a refuge from the roar and dust and weary, nervous, wasting work of the lowlands, in which one gains advantages of both solitude and society."

~John Muir