I WON

 For the past five years I have attended the Yavapai Cattle Growers Association's annual Calf Sale and Barbecue at Peeples Valley, Arizona.  And, every year I buy tickets for the quilt raffle.  And, this year, I WON. 

The quilt...which is quite heavy...is made up of brands from the ranches in the county.  The owner of the brand is also named and from where they hail.  The size of this quilt happens to be a queen size...the exact size of my bed.  I will cherish this quilt.

This is a view of one of the squares with their brand & their name.

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A Story To Live By

What Special Someday Are We Saving For?

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite: silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least eight or nine years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment. Then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me.

"Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion."

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special.

I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings.


Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event--such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom.

I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for a small bag of groceries without wincing.

I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends.

"Someday" and "one of these days" are fighting a losing battle to stay in my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.

I'm not sure what my sister would have done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing--I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with--someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write--one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them.

I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.

And every morning when I open my eyes I tell myself that this is a special occasion.

Ann Wells

Thank U for reading,

Fall is Here

It seems Fall is in the air but not in Arizona.  This week the 100s R still here.  It seems that the monsoon has disappeared.  Have to wait a little bit more to do the fall planting but sure would like to get started....maybe next week.  In the meantime.....I've been putting these in the yard.  

This is a start.  It's too HOT to stay outside too much.  Even though I'm up at daybreak.  

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Morning Visitor

I've been having trouble with my Nikon P100 focusing in telephoto.  So, I re-read the instruction book, reset the settings on the camera, and this morning I went out to try it again.  Luckily, whatever I did, worked.  I took these of the morning visitor.  I know that most people take down their hummingbird feeders after Labor Day but around here in Phoenix, Arizona, they stay all year.  When it gets cold they need food and I always provide it.  I luv watching them come in and get testy at others coming in.

Everyone needs a "ME" file

Everyone Needs a "Me" File

During a dinner with friends I mentioned an e-mail I'd received from a 13-year-old thanking me for the way my commentaries had influenced his life. I was clearly proud of the note, and Sally Kinnamon said I should save this and other affirming mementos and put them in a "Me" file.

At first I thought she was being sarcastic, but she assured me she was quite serious. Sally came upon the idea while training in-home nurses, who often work in isolated conditions with little or no affirmative feedback.

She gave each nurse an empty folder labeled "Me" and instructed them to put every form of grateful or complimentary feedback into the file, including cards, notes, letters, and positive performance reviews. She said that this folder should be taken out and read whenever any of them felt unappreciated or questioned the value of their work.

Sally acknowledged that most of the nurses were initially reluctant, fearing it was too self-indulgent, egotistical, or just plain silly, but she explained it's not a bragging file to show others how good we are. Rather, it's a private collection evidencing the large and small triumphs that give us psychic gratification and reconnect us with the best reasons we do what we do. Eventually, she said, most of the nurses came to use and draw great comfort and encouragement from their "Me" files.

What a terrific idea. You ought to start a "Me" file for yourself and put in it anything that validates what you do at work or home.

The next step, of course, is to be sure you're spending time doing the kinds of things that will fill your "ME" file.

Michael Josephson