Life is a Scribble.

What a roller coaster ride of emotions. I guess that is fitting for Santa Clarita Valley, home of Magic Mountain and the best selection of roller coasters all in one location!

So, second time around, dealing with emotions of elation, nostalgia - - - I was rushing around this morning to all my local haunts, while I knew where I was, i.e. Michael s, Sally’s Beauty Supply, my local pharmacy, where we are all on a first name basis. Sad but true. Lol 

Driving the Toad to meet up with Mark. who was getting the tire pressure checked on the Tumbleweed, I turned the music up and was mentally thinking, “This may be the last time I ever drive around in this area by myself.” (sigh) – Then the radio pops on with Tom Petty, “Don’t come around here no more . . . Well fine! If that’s how you feel. And here I was feeling all sad.

Seriously though, I am ready to let go of everything. Everything but my hair dresser. I just LOVE her! Is it wrong to kidnap, wait no, hijack, uh, invite my hairstylist to travel with us? I’d even turn the Toad into a temporary chicken-coop for her beloved little egg-layers!

I went in to see her yesterday, for a final root touch up and a special panel of purple on my underneath layer. You can only see the purple if I pull my hair up, otherwise it only peeks out on occasion. 

(I call it my quiet rebellion)…

I was SO excited to get to see Cheri again. I got in the lift, went up to the second floor, opened the Salon door and I have NEVER sucked in so much air in one gasp as I did at that moment! (Diminished lung capacity my tooshy!) 

The whole place had been cleaned out, down to the bare cement! No paint! No flooring! What the heck!!! Cheri and the posse had been kidnapped! Of course that was just a fleeting, first thought.

They must have moved! Had I really been gone that long? This place could not have been anymore dismantled unless they had knocked out the sheet rock as well.  

I went back to my car to ring Cheri and left a voice mail message. I looked the Salon up on-line and they were still listed at the same address. So I rang Cheri again, and again, got her answering machine. Left another message, almost in tears. I was feeling very, I don’t know – like I had just walked into a Twilight Zone episode!

Meanwhile, Cheri, at her NEW LOCATION was waiting for me, and getting annoyed with her phone as it kept buzzing and buzzing (me calling) as she was trying to set-up for my color appointment.

Long story short; the original salon owner had given the staff a two week notice and Cheri was now working at another salon just down the road. As this happened a few months ago, she assumed I knew. 

Once she got annoyed enough to pick up her phone and see who was pestering her, we got things sorted out and I was at the new salon in no time. Seeing those big, blue smiling eyes brought me back to happy. Plus, the new salon is lovely! Much better for her, perfect fit.

And can I just say, I don’t just love Cheri because she does such a good job on my hair. I love her because she is one of those rare people who, especially in this industry, does not look at you like an ATM; pushing product and costly unneeded treatments at you, trying to see how much they can pull out from any one visit. 

Cheri cares about each of her clients on a personal level. She has the amazing gift of remembering the most minute details of your life. Okay, so maybe she forgets slight details of her own life, such as she is working at a new salon…lol. But honestly, she makes you feel cared about and it is not a pretense. It is just who she is. 

SO, with that being said, if you are in this area, and are looking for a great haircut or style, you would be wise to treat yourself to Ch­­eri. She is a jewel.

Here is a pic of her business card at the new location. ­

Cheri darling, I love and miss you already. 

See you when I pass back through!

We are currently driving down LA’s bumpy freeway; are these craters or sink holes?!! And are on our way to the Newport Beach area where my half-sister is in a nursing facility. Her health is fading and I am fortunate to be in the area so that I can spend time with her. 

Hence, (yep, I said hence . . . I am practicing my grown-up words as of late since they keep telling me I am getting old) – our meandering trip to Arizona has been postponed and depending on my sister’s situation, may end up being more of a dash than a meander.

Life and death. 

They call it the Circle of Life. I feel like it is more of a scribble.

It is getting late. After spending the evening with my sister, my heart felt like it had been wrung out like a rag. It is such a helpless feeling to watch someone you love, suffer.

Mark arrived just as I kissed her goodnight. She was finally drifting off into a peaceful sleep after receiving her evening meds. 

As neither of Mark or I had eaten dinner, we stopped at Norm's on the way back to the rig. I cannot believe, in almost a decade of living in CA, we have never been to a Norm's, but there you are. 

 

I like Norm's. It was like mom cooked a comfort meal, just when I needed it most.

Tomorrow I get to spend the day with Jeri. I'll be able to see what her days are like, how her attitude is, check out the quality of her care. I'll pack a DVD player and some fun movies, if she is up for it. I have great memories of the two of us staying up all night, watching Golden Girls or I Love Lucy and seeing her slap her knee in hysterics as she laughed so hard - which of course made me laugh all the harder.

Please keep Jeri in your prayers. Pray for peace, comfort and a heart that is right with God.

Now I will leave you with one of my biggest pet peeves, just because. And guys, you can stop reading here, because you just won't get this:

I hate it when you are in a public restroom, place a paper toilet seat cover atop the toilet seat, go to sit down and "whoosh" the automatic flush goes off and pulls the seat cover down with a flush, just as your bare tooshy lands on an uncovered, God-only-knows-what-germs-are lurking, toilet seat. 

Just had to get that off my chest. It's been a tough day.

BREAKING TIES, BUT NOT BURNING BRIDGES

After six months, today marks the final breaking of the ties to our old neighborhood. I have medical specialists I must see every three months, which is why we are back in California right now. However, my main Dr.'s spouse was transferred to NYC, so she is leaving her job at the end of next month. (Gasp! Can she do that?)

This puts me in a bit of a pickle because if she is leaving, I am going to have to establish a relationship with another specialist rather quickly, due to my frequent need of monitoring, not to mention my personal drug store of refills to keep up with,~ which is a whole other can of worms when you are traveling. Oy, let me just tell you . . .

First of all, did you know that you can only transfer a prescription once from your "base" pharmacy, then all refills on your record are cancelled? Even when you are dealing with the same pharmacy chain?! My doctors have to phone in new prescription refills on ALL my meds every month. 

Why don't you pick up more than one month supply at a time, you ask? Because my insurance company does not let you pick up more than a one month supply unless you do mail order, in which case they will mail you 3 months worth – How do you do that when you never know where you will be at any given time? I get a headache just talking about it.

So - - - the BIG news is, looks like we will be looking for a permanent home, one without wheels, sooner than later. (Pouting, arms folded)

I should be excited, but we haven't even begun to enjoy our nomadic life on the go. I'm not ready to grow roots again! Mark assures me that having a home will not end our travels. It will be more like a 50/50 situation, and we will have the best of both worlds. 

He is so good at putting things into perspective; me, I think with my emotions - and I have the emotions of a monkey on caffeine, with ADHD, OCD, in a room full of shiny objects and bananas. Yeah.

Knowing we have just sold everything and have to start from scratch, both wears me out and thrills me at the same time. Well, it mostly just made me feel overwhelmed until I got onto Pinterest and started checking out Southwestern décor - - - then I decided, I can do this! Flat on my back with a laptop if I have to! LOL

Signing off with my doctors here in California really was the last step in breaking our ties here. (Except for all of my rellies and friends of course). Doesn't mean we won’t be back - If I have my way we'll be back quite often. I love the Carlsbad area and the beaches . . . Oh yeah baby - (in my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice): I’ll be baaaack!

Today’s forecast was for a cloudy day. For all of you who have not experienced this rare SoCal anomaly, I thought I should post a picture for you. 

These cloudy days are a bitch! (Gosh I love it here)! Talk to you soon! 

I better go put a sweater on . . .

Last Half of the Canyon Tour and Misc. Tidbits . . .

We are currently back in our old stomping grounds. It was strange, as we drove towards California, a brown, hazy horizon lay before us. There was trash cluttering the side of the freeways, typical crazy LA traffic, and horrible road conditions; it made my heart sink. I felt guilty for not being excited to be back. Was love really blind? After all the beauty I have been surrounded by, Southern California had lost its luster. 

Once we settled into the RV Park, a different feeling took over. I was back in my nest. I felt a comfort I had forgotten; the freedom of knowing your surroundings. This is something most people take for granted. Brown haze, trash, graffiti, etc. – all that fell out of sight. I was back home and it was beautiful.

We had returned as I needed to see some specialists regarding my health issues, so this whole week has been filled with appointments, lab work, etc, every day from morning to end of business hours.

I will be very glad when this week is over!  Ha, I can hear my mother’s voice telling me, “Don’t wish your life away.” And she thought I never listened. If she only knew how often her words still guide me, even long after her passing. Wow, got a little off topic there. A little side tour of my brain…that can be scary! You lucked out with a warm mommy memory, could have been much worse. <wink> 

Tonight Cotye pointed out to Mark that there was a family of raccoon's sleeping on the air filter of the RV engine. We can see them, Cotye can smell them, but we can’t reach them. Hmm…what to do…just another day in the life of full-time RV-ers. I am thinking maybe NOW Mark will start using that rope light we bought for just this reason. We were told if you lay it on the ground under and around the RV, the nocturnal critters stay away from the light. Add some garlic and you can also keep the vampires away … or so I hear. We don't need to leave garlic out. All I have to do is slip some in Mark's dinner and we're good. It's like a garlic scented Glade plug-in. (Sorry Mark, but ... truth!)

Okay, are you ready for the remaining portion of the Canyon Tour? I apologize I was not able to do a “blog-as-you-go” version, but sometimes life just throws way too many balls at you all at once and even though you try to juggle them, a few inevitably get dropped. C’est la vie. You can only do your best, and then pat yourself on the back for what you DID accomplish. The rest will fall into place.

So sit back, get comfy, and enjoy the tour!

After Moab we stayed in Kodachrome National Park.The rock formations were within touch no matter which direction you faced. In September 1949 the National Geographic Society did a story on this area and because of its beauty, they named it for the new type of Kodak film they were using. 

We mostly spent our days in exploring Bryce Canyon so there are only a few pics of Kodachrome. This was our campsite:

Cotye and I did venture up some of the red rock in front of the RV. He sniffed out a hole and led me away, turned out there was a rattler inside. I love his sensitive nose!

It kind of looks like Cotye is dragging me up the hill, but not true. He was just enthusiastic. Besides, there were no witnesses to refute my version. 

The colors of this basin, like the other canyons, changed with the position of the sun. This is the place I mentioned in my last post, where the stars were so bright,. It was beautiful. I automatically reached my hand upward to touch them they felt so close. Here are a couple more pics of Kodachrome during the day.

Kodachrome is where we slept at night, but Bryce is where we played during the day. It is my favorite of all the Canyons. <happy face>

The large spirals are called Hoodoo's. To me they look like tall Native Americans, standing proudly, blankets wrapped around their bodies, headdress in place, watching over their homeland. There are hikes you can take down through the spirals. It will have to remain on my Bucket List for now, but the day I stayed back and did a small hike with Cotye;  Mark, Pat and Dawn hiked down the Queen's trail in Bryce, which takes you down to the bottom. Then they hiked back up "the Wall", which was straight up, so it was done in switchbacks. They were a tired, hungry bunch when they got back to camp!

In town there was a little place called Rubies. Small cowboy town. Good grub. Silly photos:

From Bryce we moved on to Zion. I don't believe I have ever seen so many different forms of landscape in one place like there is here.

The last one here looks to me like it is made of elephant hide! The tunnel (scroll up) was a bit freaky. It was really long...so long that they put openings, like windows, in the rock at intervals so that just when you started feeling the walls closing in, you could see outside. I am not claustrophobic, but that is about as close to it as I have ever been. Kudos to the person who thought to dynamite out some windows!

From Zion we went on to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It seems the older I get, the more heights bug me. 

Here I am waving from up top . . .

. . . down to my hubby who is much braver than I. 

Too vast for words . . .

I have no idea why a mule needs a desk, but somehow, it merits its own parking spot! Or maybe that is where it parks its desk? Hmm . . .

They finally got me out to the edge . . . how happy am I?

Dumb ass! Uhlk! He kills my nerves!

While touring the North Rim, we stayed at Kaibob National Forest. It was plush and smelled like dirt after a rain, pine and clean, crisp air. I stayed back at camp one day and the other three went for a drive, saw a tower and what do you do when you find a tower? Well, you climb it of course.

I prefer to think I am the common sense of this bunch, but I am pretty sure they think I am a chicken. Cluck cluck cluck.

Then they came across a historical ranger station and had to go inside. Not sure if it was legal or not, but it looks like it is set up for tours.

This is Jacob Lake. Can't see the lake, but the horses look happy. Do you see a lake?

From the North Rim to the South Rim we stayed in Williams, Arizona. I blogged on our last trip through this area, and I said we'd be back. I had no idea how soon it would be. I love Route 66 history. This town is full of it. It was the last town to be bypassed by I-40 in 1984.

Since it was an all day trip, and I had been there before, I stayed in town with Cotye while the three of them took the train to the South Rim. 

Once again, they left their common sense (me) behind...

Dumb ass! Oh my head . . .

It appears there was a train robbery attempt on the way home. Oh my! lol

From Williams to Sedona where a should have taken more photos! I have been there so many times and just got caught up in the shopping. This town claims to be in a Vortex that has healing powers. Who knows if it is true or not. However, I do know that while we were there was the best I have felt in a long time . . . but that could have been the shopping therapy too!

I did get a few fun pics. Such an artsy town!

 

Here are a few photos we took during the road trip, from inside the RV:

E.T. PHONE HOME? (Bryce)

So very strange to come across a lone cow in the middle of a National Forest!

Pat the Farkle King . . . He was a good sport, not so good at rolling the dice, but a good sport, definitely.

If you didn't have to wear gloves to handle this glass, the RV would be full of it!

TOGA! TOGA! Go Cotye! (chilly night)

Cotye and the deer regard each other . . .

Cotye and the alpaca regard each other . . . 

If you have to be told not to jump . . . I'm just saying . . .

The Colorado River, doesn't look like a fun place to jump in to me!

We ended up in Phoenix as the Paplow's were flying out from there, back to Minnesota where it is possible they went home to winter? It's Minnesota, you never know!

Pat had a cousin, Greg and his wife, Fern, drove up from Tucson to say hi, the trip ended at a steak house. It was a good trip from start to finish.

Ahh, we are all caught up! Woo Hoo! (doing my happy dance). And . . . tomorrow is Friday and I only have two doctor appointments. 

And now it is time for me to close my eyes and drift away; heading to the second star to the right, then straight on till morning . . .