Celebrating Mom's life

We are spending the weekend in Santa Ynez and Solvang where Patricia grew up.
Driving up here on Friday with Gavin was a lot of fun. I managed to entertain him, or he me most of the way, and we even got him to take a nap for a while.

We came here to have a Celebration of Life for Mom who passed away on Sept 7. She wanted to have her last resting place here in the Valley where she had spent over sixty years of her life, married to Robert (Bob) and raising two talented and beautiful girls, Barbara and Patricia.

Mom's last resting place next to Dad

Cousin Susie, Patricia, Aariel and Bob, Mom's brother

We had a nice gathering and everybody shared some memories of Mom.

Afterward, we sat together at Susie's, and Patricia showed pictures of mom's life
 to cousin Jody, her husband Lynn, and uncle Bob.

Mom

Mom always had the uncanny ability to surprise us with her recovery from bouts of illness or an accident. Many times previously when Mom fell or had pneumonia, we thought she would be too weak to recover, but no, she kept bouncing back, loving life as she did.
This time though, she did not make it, and left the physical realm behind.
It was very fast (15 minutes) and very unexpected, just three weeks short of her 97th birthday.  Mom passed away on Saturday, Sept 7, 2013.

She grew up as Ethel Jean Colvin in Seattle and Los Angeles.

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She graduated from Santa Barbara City College in Home Economics, the subject she later taught at the Santa Ynez High School in the mid 50s.

Mom at her college graduation

Ethel married (Robert) Bob Stevens in 1940, and after a brief stay on the Stevens' family ranch in Goleta, they moved to Los Olivos in the Santa Ynez Valley. Bob was a farmer and and later also a carpenter. They raised two daughters, Barbara and Patricia.

Ethel Jean Colvin and Robert Fredrick Stevens, married, May 30, 1940

 Travel was one of Ethel's favorite pastimes.  Bob and Mom explored lots of places in California and bordering states and also visited places in Europe like Spain, Russia, and parts of Mexico.
Sometime after Bob passed in 1998, Ethel went on cruises along the Pacific coast and through the Panama Canal to the Atlantic.
After living for some years in Encinitas near us, Ethel moved into a retirement home in Fallon, Nevada, very close to her daughter Barbara.

Ethel, Patricia & Barbara having tea in Old Town

 One of Ethel's passions was painting with watercolors or acrylics, and we once had a great conversation in which she explain to me how to look at my surroundings by seeing different shades and colors. I learned so much from her.
Mom will be missed, and we are grateful for having had some good fun and now fond memories of our time with her.

What a way to travel

We are sitting here in Reno NV at the Grand Sierra Resort, and Patricia has been researching our way out of here for the last four hours. We discovered that flying on standby is not a piece of cake; most of the flights are over booked, so that would cut us out.
Our goal is to get to Denver from here tomorrow and one of the possibilities is to fly from Reno to San Francisco, to Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, and then on to Denver the next day.
It seems a bit of a long way around, but that is the adventure, at least that's the way we now have tuned our heads.

George & Barbara dropping us off at the hotel

Barbara & George very graciously took us to Reno, and somewhere on the trip from Fallon to Reno was a freeway delay of about an hour due to an accident, but in the end we made it.
We had a great weekend with George and Barbara and visiting Mom.
Mom loved having here two girls around and sharing memories.

Patricia & Barbara  in front of our hotel in Reno

Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Life here is different

Fallon is situated in the high desert of Nevada at about 4000 ft.

Life here is quit a bit removed from what I'm used to in the city.

They have all the modern comforts here, but the landscape and weather are very different from our familiar Southern California. The air is dry and right now also very hot; no sea breeze here.

Most of the roads are dead strait and go on for miles.

On my morning walk

The funny thing is that most people live in valleys; by that they mean huge expanses of land bordered by some mountains.

On my walk last night

People here are very friendly and wave when you pass.

It is fascinating to me to imagine what the first European settlers thought when they hit this country for the first time.

We're spending the day walking, sitting with mom and Patricia planning and booking our next steps.

We're on the move agin

After having had a few great days with Mom, we are leisurely making our way back to Oceanside.

Mom looks better than ever at 96. Hope I look half as good.

Our first stop was Nevada City for dinner and an overnite with Cathy, Patricia's cousin. We love spending time with her; she is such a ball of fun.
From there, we went over to the coast to Templeton, south of Paso Robles, where we stayed for two nights at a place we found on AirBnB.  This is a great place in the middle of vineyard country with lots of wildlife and wide open spaces to enjoy. (Deer and wild Turkey)

Better pictures to come from Patricia

We spent the day checking out the area, and walking along the beach in Cambria, and it gave Patricia a chance to take some great photos.

There is a flower here somewhere.

We also went to check out the stores in Cambria and found a great accessory for Patricia.

This looks like a perfect fit.

Tomorrow, we move on to Santa Ynez where Patrica grew up stopping first in Santa Maria to visit her uncle Bob (Cathy's father).

One week off

Gavin gave us a week off, so we decided to visit Mom in Fallon Nevada.

What do you mean a week off?

Anyhow, our first stop is, as usual, at Ray's Den in Independence, CA.
I love the sun caressing the mountains first thing in the morning with the air still cool and fresh.

First thing in the morning, if you get up early.

This is just the best.

From here, we drove to Bishop the Eric Schat's Bakery in Bishop to get some bread and then on to Fallon to see Mom.

Wow what a ride

The New Year has started, and I have had almost no time to finish the old one.  I could easily have used another month.
Counting backwards, on the last day of 2012, we saw Nicole and Daireus off to their new home in Denver, Colorado.  We wish them all the happiness and may their dreams come true.

Daireus, Patricia and Nicole

Daireus, Nicole and her parents, Ken and Tracy

This year was Gavin's first Christmas, one of many firsts to come.

OK what am I supposed to do now?

Aariel and Oma feeding Gavin

Patricia is now officially retired.  December 21 was her last day at GENI, and I think she will have fond memories of the many years spend there interacting with all the young people from all over the world.

On her last day, some of Patricia's pictures were projected on all the screens

Patricia in the hot-seat, telling her side of her story.

We spent a few great months with our friends Whitney and Don in University Heights. We discovered it's a bit different than living in the burbs.

Don & Whitney

Then there was Mom's 96th Birthday. We went to see her in Fallon, Nevada, and had a great time staying with Patricia's sister, Barbara, and George.

Pretty good for 96, and it has all to do with genes and lots of walking

The sister act, Barbara and Patricia

On this trip, Patricia wanted to show me San Francisco.  We loved spending three great days there, just hanging out and experiencing the town.

Patricia is in paradise at Britex, four floors of fabrics and notions.

Of course, we do need to take photos for the memories

Here she is, living dangerously

On September 22, Daireus and Nicole promised to spend their life's together, and what a party it was.

They made it

Then there was, for us, the most important event of this century, the birth of Gavin Fischer Paradee, a gift to all of us.  Please note the middle name:>)

Gavin graced the world on September 16, 6 1/2 weeks early.

Arriving at home at last, almost too small for the car seat.

Introduction to the family, he seems to take it in stride.

These are only the last four months.  All in all a busy year, and if you follow the blog, you got most of what happened earlier in the year.
We wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous 2013.
Stay in touch; we love to hear from you.

Flat Land

At the end of September, we went to Fallon, Nevada to celebrate my mother-in-law's 96th Birthday. While we did have a great time, the only worry I had was that I couldn't find the elevation I needed for my goal of climbing 35 floors per day; each floor is 10 feet in elevation.

The road is dead strait with no elevation whatsoever.

Since there are no hills in Fallon,   I had to play out all sorts of scenarios in my mind of what I could do, like finding a two story building and climbing the stairs, or driving to a nearby mountain and so on.

Do this 15 times and you are out of breath or whatever you want to call it.

As it turned out, I didn't need to worry. On my 5-mile walk to the Assisted Living home whom where Mom stays, I found a sports ground with bleachers about three floors high, so all I had to do is walk up them 15 times, and I was done.
The looks I got from the workman standing around was something else.  Even when I tried to explain what I was doing, they were still in disbelief.  I think I can't blame them.

Pretty good for 96!

And we had a great time with Mom at her 96th Birthday.  If anyone asks her what contributed to her longevity, she will tell them, "lots of walking." So I better keep walking if I want to be in such a good shape at any age.

Today is the day

Aariel and Ryan are on their way home from the hospital with baby Gavin. I have instructed the dogs about the situation, like "from now on, you will live outdoors more than indoors," and so forth.

Not sure why we are outside.

Everyone is very excited; after all, this little being will shape a big part of our lives from now on.

With the extra padding, Gavin fits perfectly in his car seat.

Now that Gavin is home, we all can have a go at holding him without a lot is tubes and wires attached.

First, it's Daddy Ryan's turn with his nice surfboard ding on the nose!

Then it is Momma Aariel's turn.

Then Ohma Patricia 

And not to forget one for Ohpa.  I think he will have my eyebrows.

It's time to introduce him to Sasha, who barely notices him,

and Banjo, who is more interested in having his own ears scratched than noticing the baby.

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The only one missing here is Coconut, the cat. She is hiding somewhere as normal.
Now the fun begins.
I love our family.

Moving around

Having spent the last week at Michal's in Encinitas, with Moonlight Beach near by,

Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, summer is on his way.

we are now visiting Patricia's Mom and sister in Nevada. We managed to get a great weekend with blue sky and very cold (at nite) temperatures. I guess this is good for being well preserved. I love being with the horses and in the country.

Star is just wondering what's going on

Mom is looking as good as ever at 95 1/2, here with Romeo

Tomorrow, it's back to San Diego very early in the morning, like the first plane's out at 5:30am!