In a nutshell

I know that this blog has become all over the map, and I hope you're okay with that, because I'm okay with that. This blog is fulfilling several functions for me:

- Communicating information about my breast cancer treatment, including reconstruction

- Keeping friends and family updated about the ins and outs of our lives as a family

- Personal therapy for me - a chance to vent my feelings and sort them out and even occassionally get some online support from my readers

- A chance to work out ideas in writing (which is how I do my best thinking) on subjects such as compassion, joy, the environment, frugality, lifestyle, etc.

- A chance to share with others some of my ideas about how to change the world in small, incremental, easy-to-bite-off steps

- A documentation of the changes in my life in my quest for a balance between health, environment, and happiness (with a big dose of frugality thrown in!)

The more I write here, the more into I become, and blogging has become one of my favorite activities. As usual, I wish that I had more time for it to craft my messages, organize them, make them more readable, edit for stupid mistakes like using the same adjective twice in the same sentence, etc. (in addition to myriad spelling errors!). But I'm also trying to live in the moment, and I consider the blog my raw material, not the final result. What will I turn it into? Perhaps nothing. Perhaps a series of books. Perhaps a couple of essays. Perhaps something different entirely. Still, I'm drawn to keep writing it down...so I write.

I've mentioned our trip to Portland, but I haven't posted anything yet, so here goes - pictures! We had a lovely trip, and Mom & Dad S. were fabulous hosts (as always), treating us to home cooked meals, shared laughter, a trip to Bob's Red Mill so that Tessa could learn how they ground flour in "olden days," a visit with Scott & Susan, etc. The train ride was a pretty near perfect way to travel for our family, very relaxing, but the most fun was had with our family.

Some pictures:

Here's a picture of Tessa getting her first sewing machine lesson from Grandma - she was fascinated, and believes her grandma to be the most talented seamstress around. (Thanks so much, Mom, for mending Ryan's things!)Aunt Susan was one of the highlights of the trip for Tessa. Not only did we celebrate Aunt Susan's birthday (meaning that Grandma made her famous Surface Birthday Cake - angel food with the family recipe frosting), Aunt Susan read Tessa stories (this picture) and played Littlest Pet Shop with her. Tessa LOVED it!Ryan helped out a bit in the garden, and Tessa made short work of climbing the trees in the yard.
Here's Grandma, Bopa, and Tessa in front of Bob's Red Mill. It was a beautiful, sunny day.

And one more picture of Grandma, Bopa, and Tessa, this one taken in their back yard.

Here is a picture of Ryan's brother Scott (Uncle Scott) with Scott & Susan's new car. Usually, I think "big deal" when people get cars (much to my dad's dismay, I just don't care that much about cars) but this one was of particular interest to me, as it's a Toyota Prius. In my eyes, this thing is gorgeous, and probably my dream car. Scott is a research hound - even more than myself - and he and Susan looked into every detail before deciding on this environmentally friendly vehicle. Even new (it's only a month old) it's getting 45 miles per gallon of gas, and Scott & Susan know people with Prius's that are more broken in and sometimes get 80 mpg. That is a beautiful thing! It's the first time I've been in a Prius, and I was also incredibly impressed by it's roominess. I thought it would be too small for us as a family (especially with our lovely but giant black beast, Shep, as we don't like him in the backseat but in the "way back") but this proved untrue; it's a remarkably large small car. Ryan and I will not be buying a car for years and years if things go well, but when we do, this is what I hope for.

Tessa is awake and ready to go about her day so I need to cut this short, but here are my quick other thoughts....

= The garden continues to be a source of pleasure, frustration (I am so lacking in knowledge!) and activity for us. Every day we make some minor progress, and I'm so hopeful about what it will yield.

= I can't get enough reading in about how to alter my small world to make our bigger world a better place. I'm really enjoying the process - it gives me a sense of peacefulness that I am living in a "right livelihood" manner, and this in turn gives me joy.

= I am trying so hard to focus on what is meaningful to me, and to leave the other stuff aside. I'm trying much harder than ever before to live within my values, and you see the struggle and joy of that on just about every posting these days. I am committed to being happy, and I believe strongly that to do so I must live my life in a way beneficial to the planet and its inhabitants. Compassion is a major part of this, and I'm trying to incorporate more compassion into all I do. It does pay back, interestingly.

= Chasing a more frugal (aka living within or below our means) lifestyle is a challenge, but I am feeling the challenge and not deprivation. This is a major learning curve for me - I know little about frugality! - but I'm actually enjoying it.

And today's plan? Get the rest of the strawberry plants in the ground, and get the pea vines up. Lunch with my mom and GG (Tessa too). An afternoon at our home with Abby, Gabe, and Soleil (Abby is even more into this environmental stuff than I am!), and then a family evening together. Many other chores and details call, but the day is full. Oh well!

And this weekend I'm off to Orcas - hurrah!

And Tessa insists that I am done now. Ciao!