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.

On the road again

After a long wait, and lots of planning on Patricia's part, we have now started our vacation.

We left Friday mid morning heading up north toward Fallon, Nevada, our first stop on our six week 2013 summer vacation.

It's nice and hot today, over 104F (I think that's about 40C). Thanks to our fantastic technology, we have air-conditioning in the car, so it's bearable driving through the Mojave Desert.

First night on the road, we stayed at our favorite little motel, Ray's Den in Independence.

The hardest part about leaving San Diego is leaving Gavin; we will be missing six weeks of his growing up, (I think I know now how Becky and Ben feel when they leave Gavin behind).

What's there not to love

This morning we went for a walk along the east side of the Sierra Mountains. This is the first time we've seen the mountains without any snow; this has not happened any summer we've seen.

Then off we went to our favorite bakery, Eric Schats, in Bishop. We just love poking around between the shelves of fresh baked breads and pastries.

Then it was time for the last leg to Fallon to visit Patricia's 96 year old mother, Ethel, and her sister, Barbara and husband, George.

Not bad for 96, and all there

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.

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!