New animal friends

At our little house in Anaheim, the neighborhood wildlife consisted of sparrows, pigeons, and the occasional seagull or opossum. When we moved to Orange, we added hawks, coyotes, and bats. Now, we have deer, muskrats, vultures, eagles... spiders, lizards...

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

The delights of a screened porch! This has very quickly become Meredith's and my favorite spot. There's a ceiling fan out there for the warmest days, although the screened porch is shady most of the day. It's a wonderful place to be when it's raining (although we haven't had and really good thunderstorms yet) and a peaceful place to watch the wildlife. My neighbor has told me that there's a group of 5 or 6 deer that frequent the woods around our little culdesac, and I've seen them numerous times.

The iPhone hasn't sent pictures to Google photos in a few weeks, so you'll need to be patient regarding decent pictures of the resident ruminants. Abigail and her friend Alana worked really hard at unloading the 8 x 8 pod that brought our stuff from the west coast, hauling box after box into the coolness of the air-conditioned house. My sister Judy and I worked in the house, unpacking and putting things away as fast as we could. That first week or so was fairly warm and humid, so we inflated the paddleboard and a couple of inner tubes.

All too soon, it was time for Alana to fly home, and Frances to arrive in SC to help Abigail move in to the dorm at Anderson University. My daughters shopped for the few essentials that Abigail hadn't yet acquired (she had met her roommate on AU's social media site, and had gone shopping with her prior to Frances' arrival) and I was so grateful for Frances' help on move-in day, as I was feeling quite under the weather. Fun fact: it is no longer legal to sell ipecac syrup in the United States. Frances and Abigail loaded my van with Ab's dorm room belongings and they drove to the rear entrance of Gaston Hall (are you singing in your head yet? "No one's quick as Gaston, no one's slick as Gaston, no one's neck's as incredibly thick as Gaston..." Oops! I stand corrected; the emphasis is on the FIRST syllable, GAS-ton.)

Everything had to be labeled with Abigail's name and room number, because she didn't get out of the car! A team of students (many of whom were the football players) emptied the car and took everything to Abigail's dorm room, while she and Frances drove the car to the athletic center parking lot and took the shuttle back to the dorm.

Her roommate's parents and older brother were there as well, and helped Abigail to get her bed "lofted," etc. Once the room was all arranged, my girls came home, and now that I was feeling better, I accompanied them back to campus for the "Archway Walk." This is the way that Anderson University commemorates the beginning and end of a student's time at AU. The incoming freshmen gather at an appointed location on campus, then they walk to the front of campus, entering through the arch that says "Anderson University." When they graduate, following the ceremony on the huge green lawn, the grads exit the campus by walking out through the same arch.

More clarification....

Been ruminating all day about the new name and my explanation. Please don't misunderstand me; I do not in any way mean to imply God's gifts are cheap! He paid the ultimate price, He died in my place, paid the penalty for my selfish, stupid choices so that I can spend eternity with Him. I'm simply saying that it's all in how you look at things. Looking at my life through the lens of scripture, staying focused on the blessings instead of the challenges, I am able to see the beauty and the glory and all of the many blessings He has given me. Each new day is a wonderful gift. This way of living may not be for everyone, and some people may even accuse me of being in denial about the not-so-fun parts of my life. But I would rather be Cleopatra (Queen of Denial) than dwell on things that I cannot change, and hey - I am SO glad that you've made the choice to check in on my goofy, silly, happy, wonderful life!

Some clarification

Along with the reboot of the blog, I'm giving it a new name. Life has changed significantly since 2012, when I had last been posting here. My girls are grown up, I have had to retire, and I have relocated. "Life as Seen Through Cheap Sunglasses" reflects the fact that I don't need things that are fancy and expensive to enjoy God's blessings. I have never bought "nice" sunglasses, because I wear them so often and in many situations (pools, lakes, the beach, amusement park rides) where they could easily get broken or lost. I get my sunglasses at the dollar store or discount store, but somehow always manage to find the pair in the same shape, with the same type of lenses that make every color more vibrant, everything more beautiful. I often tell people, "Here, put these on! You'll see what I mean!" I'll look at something, a sunset, the ocean, etc.) and be moved by its beauty, but when I take off my cheap sunglasses, it appears more drab and ordinary. These five dollar sunglasses make my world so astonishing and vibrant and show me such glorious beauty - and I feel as though that's how we should see life, through the lens of God's many blessings. When I look at my life in Christ, I realize that God has given me everything that I ever wanted: children, a home, a rewarding career, foreign language skills, a lake within steps of my front door - and while I have had some unexpected bumps in the road, who am I to be ungrateful, when I am blessed beyond measure? I have to pick up my sweet Abigail Grace from college now. More later! And if you know how to do vlogs or podcasts, (or how to format this blog so that the photos aren't in one long string down the middle of the page), please let me know!

Road Trip to the Lake House, Day 5, July 31

We were treated to room service breakfast, and took our time geting ready. Then, it was off to Atlanta, to The World of Coca-Cola! I was interested in what their current movie would be (when we were there in 2014 during the Epic Road Trip, the movie had been about how Coke products are distributed all over the world). The girls were eagerly anticipating the opportunity to taste all of the Coke products available world-wide.

None of us were disappointed. The current movie is set to Imagine Dragons' "On Top of the World," and features military family reunions, skydiving, "Dude Perfect"-type of achievements, marriage proposals... Whoever makes these movies knows how to reach us emotionally! And the girls had a blast in the tasting room. I was in frequent contact with the property management company, as today was the final walk-through with the tenants. Mid-afternoon, we got the green light that the house was cleared, cleaned, and ready for us to move in! Atlanta is less than two hours' drive from Anderson, SC, so we were there by about 5 pm. The cats arrived shortly thereafter, and my sister Judy pulled up at supper time. The pod didn't arrive until the following morning, but that gave us time to unload our cars and do the laundry from the road trip.

I FIGURED OUT HOW TO LOAD THE VIDEO! GO, MOM, GO!

Road Trip to the Lake House. Day 4, July 30

This was another lo-o-o-ong day, because we didn't leave Memphis until after lunch. We drove to Marietta, Georgia and spent the night in a regular hotel. Gorgeous view of a golf course, fabulous beds, and a lightning show in the black skies as we arrived. We did not stay in Atlanta, because like Los Angeles, Atlanta has no free parking at hotels, and we had two cars.

Road Trip to the Lake House, Day 3, July 29

Well, I can post stories, and some photos, but not ALL of the photos. Apparently, photos that I personally did not take, but which others have shared with me, despite being saved into the photos on my phone and Google photos, are not accessible to the blog (despite blogspot being a Google app). Oh well. I'll do my best! And when I insert a photo, it shows up on the draft as a long series of numbers, letters and shapes. Hmmm...

This day we left Texas, and drove across a bunch of states. One of them was Oklahoma and we passed the off-ramps or county highways which led to Talequah (where my mom went to college), Warner (where my grandma grew up and where my great grandfather had a general store), and Stigler, home to Connors State Teachers' College (my grandparents both got their teaching licenses there). This was a really long day of driving, from Amarillo, TX to Memphis, TN. There was a reason: I had booked a room for us inside the Bass Pro Shop pyramid, at the Big Cypress Lodge!

It was so fun! The interior of the pyramid is like being inside of the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyland: perpetually twilight. It's huge, and designed to look like a cypress swamp. All of the boats they sell are floating in water, with 6-foot catfish swimming beneath them. There are bridges and trees and boardwalks, a shooting gallery, a restaurant, the requisite aquarium, and then in the center of it all is the tallest freestanding glass elevator. Hotel guests can ride in the elevator at no charge, and it takes you up to a rooftop restaurant! We had lumch there, enjoying delicious food and spectacular views.

After thoroughly exploring the Bass Pro Shop, we headed for Georgia.