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.

 `









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.

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

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.

Country Fashion

First comes the work, feeding Barbara's horses, then the fashion show.

The Gaucho look.

On the fence.

This is my Country Girl. I think she would pass any time.

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!

Not much happened

and yet we are doing things that matter, like doing jobs around the house, sometimes cooking dinner, walking the dogs and making ourselves useful in any way we can.
It's fun sharing a place with Aariel and Ryan and the animals, and we are looking for a place around the area of Oceanside, just to be conveniently close to them when the nanny role kicks in.
I am also busy looking for a job around here, have put out a ton of applications, but not may bites.
Patricia got all her work done in the garden, and the first shoots are looking at daylight.
On Patricia's days off, we visit our old haunts at Encinitas and walk Crest just for fun and to see whats going on and to talk to old friends.  We just like the place.

The first bean sprouts have come out.

And here are the radishes 

and the flowers on the fence. 

Soon this will be hanging on the wall.

It is a lot of fun doing little projects, as long as I don't have to.

Time to go south

As great as Nevada is, it is now time to head south to SoCal (Southern California).
We had a great time seeing Patricia's mom and watching her improve every day.  She is already walking a bit - don't forget she is 95, not that that is a big deal.
We just had great news. Odell, who is the new renter of the studio we used to live in in Encinitas, will let us stay there for two weeks, while we find somewhere to live and get settled.
This morning, we woke to a blanket of snow, so it is time to leave. We look forward seeing all our friends.
Mind you, officially, we are not back until the start of March, so we may still go on a trip next month.

This is what it looked like yesterday.

This morning, we are under a blanket of snow.