My best December EVER

I have not posted over the past month because I have been so busy LIVING my life rather than writing about it. I had a phenomenal Christmas season, and have savored this December through and through. For me, that is nothing short of amazing.

Traditionally I have gone into a funk in December. Some years it has been a "partly cloudy" sort of angst. Other years it has been dancing with the devil of pretty significant depression. Suffice it to say that December has been my most bleak month of the year for the past 20 years or so. Part of that has been because I have long associated the Christmas season with death and funerals. Part of has been missing my kids who live half a country away, which somehow has felt more poignant during the holidays. Part has to do with other things...

But NONE of it got me down this year.

I can honestly say that 2011 has been a pretty spectacular year for me, a season in my life when I've felt more contentment and bliss than ever before. Then, as icing on the cake, December has been my best month of this very good year.

Here are a few of the highlights:

I started a new job in October. The first several weeks were filled with the expected anxiety of learning curve. But by December I began to find my stride and found I REALLY like my new position. I have been astonished at what a good fit it is for me. FINALLY I have a job that seems just the right amount of responsibility and challenge that keeps me on my toes without overwhelming me. I get to work with some very cool people and I while I still have a long way to go to achieve mastery in my new role, I am genuinely enjoying the process.

My beloved turned 66 on Dec 1. We celebrated on Sanibel Island in Florida. We had an amazing time connecting with each other in a beautiful place. Being married for 30 years to this guy has been quite a privilege. The week of our anniversary and his birthday was a romantic whirlwind that left me giddy.

My spirituality has been in a very sweet space for the past while. I've long had a strong faith system and have been active in the practices of my church. Still, sometimes I have felt less closeness with my creator. Over the past year as I've dug deeper into gratitude and truly savored my blessings (which have been many) I've been able to notice tender mercies all around me on a more steady basis.

Throughout the month of December we did a variety of festive things...Dec 9 - Live Nativity with my brother and sister-in-law, Dec 10 - A Christmas Carol at Nampa Civic Music Theatre with some dear friends, Dec 18 - Boise LDS Institute choir Christmas program - BEAUTIFUL! There was a church breakfast we took neighbors to and a work party that was more fun than I had expected. We went caroling with a group from our congregation, mailed out (and received) lots of cards and made Christmas cookies for neighbors and friends.

But best of all, we went to Arizona for Christmas. We had the most amazing time there, I am still grinning so much my face hurts. We had wonderful visits with family. There were several very special things we got to do. It was just the right mix of quiet down time and revelry. It really was a magical way to close out the year.

Tomorrow night we will go to some friends to ring in 2012. We'll nosh on some yummies, play some games, and enjoy being silly with people we like.

When 2010 ended I was more than ready to kick the year to the curb. It had done me few favors. But I'll be a bit sad to see this one go. Indeed 2011 has been a delightful year for me. I hope I will always savor the memory of it. I've had multiple peak periods of bliss. I've had so much to be grateful for.

A giant's passing

I'm on my way back to Arizona to attend the Memorial Service of my beloved uncle, Tom Pendley.

Many thanks to my cousin (Tom's daughter), Kathy Shaw, for sharing this obituary of her dad:

Arizona native, Thomas Tilman Pendley II, 87, of Phoenix died February 23, 2010.

Mr. Pendley was born February 22, 1923 in Clemenceau, (now Cottonwood), AZ to Frank and Jane Pendley. Tom grew up on the family homestead at Slide Rock, north of Sedona, where they raised apples, peaches, and pears which they sold at their roadside store. Tom attended grade school in Oak Creek Canyon, high school in Flagstaff, and university at ASU. He married Dorothy Diers in 1955 and returned to manage the family farm in Oak Creek from 1963 to 1985. Tom recognized the vulnerability of the orchard crops and added sweet corn to the produce raised at Slide Rock. He developed a loyal following of customers looking for that “picked this morning” freshness that had disappeared from the local markets. Tom’s passion for quality fruits and vegetables was the motivation for his collaborative effort in the foundation of the Coconino County Fair. He fought for the rights of the family farmer at a time when government and developers were exploiting nature’s wonders. Tom worked tirelessly to make the family farm a success and to preserve the natural beauty for generations to come. Through his efforts and those of Govenor Bruce Babbitt, Slide Rock became a State Park in 1985 and has since become one of the most popular State Parks in Arizona.

Tom and Dorothy enjoyed retirement by travelling to destinations in Alaska, Europe, and Mexico. Between trips he continued farming by raising tomatoes in his backyard garden; always with the emphasis on flavor over appearance. Tom brought the flavor of life to a family that will miss him dearly.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Frank L. and Jane H. Pendley, his brothers Don and Frank Pendley, sisters Jill Jonovich, Eva Young, Patricia Rueger, Marge Theriault and Joy Odell.

He leaves his wife, Dorothy of Phoenix, daughters Kathy Shaw (Ed) of Flagstaff and Karen Harkey (John) of Flagstaff, son Tom Pendley III (Kathy) of Phoenix, and three grandchildren Maya Shaw, Brooke Warren and Orion Pendley and sister Nina Lovett of Cottonwood,

A Memorial service will be held at Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Peoria, AZ, on Sunday February 28, at 3:00 p.m. (623) 773-1234.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Friends of Slide Rock State Park, P.O. Box 3432, Flagstaff, AZ 86003.

Thanks to my older brother, Wayne, for sharing THIS LINK to Tom's Oral History with pictures of the apple ranch in Oak Creek that is now Slide Rock State Park.

Home Turf

These past few days of tromping all over Arizona have been a revelation for me. I moved away from the Southwest in 1981 and pretty much never looked back. I have loved the Pacific northwest and never really thought I'd want to leave it. However, there is no denying there is a deep connection in my spirit to this arid land. It is very different from the lush green and deep woods I have savored other places. But Arizona definitely has a rich beauty all it's own.

My man and I have been having some long, serious talks about the possibility of us moving back here permanently. It may take a year or more to get all the pieces in place to make that a reality. But I strongly suspect it is the direction we will go.

Who'd have thunk it?

If we stay living where we are now we would have lots more money (keeping husband's job as well as my own.) If we move, it is highly unlikely that at age 62 my husband will be getting another professional job. But if the only thing that mattered was money, we'd all be drug dealers. Our needs are fairly simple. He supported me for a good many years while I was raising our boys. There is no reason I can't be the breadwinner for the next 15 years.

Hard to say what the future will hold. But we are talking a lot about what it means to craft a life, not just earn a living. We're talking about where we want to be as we age and what we want those years to be like. A lot will depend on where I can get a good job. But the ones I'm looking at now are southward. So we'll just throw the possibility out to the Universe, and see what unfolds.

Arizona Bound

Looks like our Italy trip is on hold for now.

Due to a variety of circumstances, we've decided to put off any international trips this year. Instead, my beloved and I will be heading to Arizona in October. I've booked reservations for us to take a hot air balloon ride over the majestic red cliffs of Sedona with Red Rock Balloon Adventures. That seems like an appropriate way to celebrate my 50th birthday. We'll also do some exploring / fishing / hiking / geocaching in Oak Creek Canyon. We will be going to the Apple Fest at Slide Rock State Park, which just happens to be located on my grandfather's homestead.

Frank L. Pendley came to Arizona from his native Texas in the early 1800's. He arrived in Oak Creek Canyon 100 years ago this year. Through hard work and amazing ingenuity he mastered the challenge of getting water to his property - something that had stumped all those who tried to settle the place before. He planted an apple orchard and built a house, developing the property a little more each year. This is the place where my father was born and where we scattered his ashes when he died. It's where I wandered around the hills as a kid and the spirit of the place has shaped me in more ways than I can name.

Although my grandfather died before I was born, I've heard so many stories of his life that I feel as if I had known him. So I'll gather at the ranch with a bunch of my cousins to honor this amazing pioneer and walk again in those red cliffs of my youth. Should be a good trip.

................................Frank L. Pendley

There's a nice photo of the packing shed HERE over on Flikr.

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About the park: Slide Rock State Park, originally the Pendley Homestead, is a 43-acre historical apple farm located in Oak Creek Canyon. Frank L. Pendley, having arrived in the canyon in 1907, formally acquired the land under the Homestead Act in 1910. Due to his pioneering innovation, he succeeded where others failed by establishing a unique irrigation system still in use by the park today. This allowed Pendley to plant his first apple orchard in 1912, beginning the pattern of agricultural development that has dominated the site since that time. Pendley also grew garden produce and kept some livestock. As one of the few homesteads left intact in the canyon today, Slide Rock State Park is a fine example of early agricultural development in Central Arizona. The site was also instrumental to the development of the tourism industry in Oak Creek Canyon. The park is named after the famous Slide Rock, a stretch of slippery creek bottom adjacent to the homestead. Visitors may slide down a slick natural water chute or wade and sun along the creek. The swim area is located on National Forest land which is jointly managed by Arizona State Parks and the U.S. Forest Service.

Together these areas have seen the making of many Hollywood movies such as "Broken Arrow" (1950) with James Stewart, "Drum Beat" (1954) with Alan Ladd and Charles Bronson, "Gun Fury" (1953) with Rock Hudson and Donna Reed, and a scene from "Angel and the Badman" (1946) with John Wayne.

Old Jerome

I’ve been crunching numbers at work most the day – trying to measure which intervention strategies are most effective in increasing student retention and promoting transition from non-credit or college prep classes into college level work. Sorta tedious, but intriguing at the same time.

As usual, I’ve got tunes playing on Pandora while I work. Many thanks to Papa Herman for turning me on to the GREAT service. Free music from your computer and you get to give feedback to customize what sort of music will be played.

Anyway…there I was just crunching away with Excel data analyzer, generating random samples of student numbers and building tables to illustrate enrollment status of various groups when a song came on I’d never heard before….

“Old Jerome” by Kate Wolf

This is a song about the little mining town clinging to the mountainside in Arizona where I went to High School. The line about Cleopatra Hill and the copper left no doubt.

So many memories of that place came tumbling back…from partying in the Spirit Room to hanging with the hippies in the Gulch. And yes, even some good times at Mingus Union High School as it slowly but surely worked it's way at sliding down the side of the mountain along with the rest of the precarious town.

From copper mining boom town, to ghost town, to hippy hang out to thriving artist community and funky place extraordinaire, Jerome, Arizona was quite a place. I haven’t been back for many, many years but I will always carry fond memories of the place.