Sarah's CircleFriends are blessings that sustain our journeys. |
Rural, cultural, good food, beautiful setting, 9 weeks of classes, discussions and relaxation.
Me, alone, no dogs, no husband, no responsibilities. I would have a private room. I would take art supplies with me and give myself time to dream and draw. There are lots of people who attend the Chautauqua Institute each summer, June 27 through August 30, this year. Lectures and concerts are the daily fare, and should I get lonely there will be many others to talk with. I am not by nature a loner, so this might stretch my normal instincts a bit. But I think it would be good for me to stop for a while, maybe take breathing lessons and just slow down. --donna
0 Comments
There are wonderful places still to visit around the world, but with our present situation, I’ve been thinking more about domestic traveling. Last fall, some friends and I took a three week road trip to the Midwest and northeast which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was exciting to spend 2-3 days exploring numerous areas where I had never been. I would love to visit Alaska and have found Information about small ship touring, which really appeals to me. The majestic mountains and ocean formations must be a thrilling sight! I have never been to the northwest section of the country, so that is definitely on my bucket list, along with glacier national park and a return visit to Yellowstone. I am looking forward to the family trip to the Adirondacks that was planned for the end of June, but of, course, was cancelled. We are blessed to live in a beautiful country with such a diversity of natural and man made sites.
--Jeanette There are a lot of places in the world I haven't visited. Many I would like to see, but there are practical reasons why I haven't yet. Time, expense, travel and pet arrangements all make vacations complicated. These will still be issues after the pandemic, but if they could be ignored, there are a few places I'd love to visit, or to revisit. We've visited Italy, and of all the places we've been, this is one place I'd love to visit again. The countryside, the gardens at Tivoli, and the food are without equal, in my opinion. I've also been to Paris and could spend a few more days walking along the Seine or admiring the flowers in the Tuileries Garden. Or the beautiful Butchart Gardens of Victoria, British Columbia. I love every kind of formal and informal garden--all that color!! But I'm sure there are lovely gardens in many places I've not yet seen. I've never been to Austria, Switzerland, or Germany, and they are high on my list if we're ever able to go to Europe again. Typical Caribbean cruises are really not appealing to me, but a Mediterranean or European river cruise sounds wonderful. If the travel weren't so grueling, I'd also love to see Australia and New Zealand. Maybe by teleportation? We had to cancel plans in April to visit friends and family in Colorado and then to spend a few days at the Grand Canyon. That will more than likely be the trip we'll take when we're able to travel again. And that's fine. I'm just as happy to see new scenery as I am familiar places that I've loved, whether they're across the Atlantic or in the next county. And road trips can be more enjoyable than some long-distance trips. I can carry a lot more "stuff" if we're traveling by car. I'll probably die before I've seen everything I'd like to see in the world, but I'm good with that. I'd like to think I will instead have made the most of the trips I have taken. --Janice If I could go anywhere, I’d like to go back to Cannon Falls, Minnesota, to my Grandma’s house beside the tall white pines she planted. It would be 1992, just before she died. I would want to talk to her, Grandma to Grandma, something that never happened. In those days, in my culture, grandparents didn’t talk to children. We knew that and didn’t question it. So I thought I had little in common with her. But now I’m a grandmother too, and I understand how she did communicate with me, over and over, with the things she loved. I would tell her that I remember the day she helped me with my knitting. I was going so slow, and in just a few minutes she showed me how to knit European style, fast and efficiently. I would recall to her how after every visit to her house she would find an old newspaper, dip it in water, and expect me to choose which flowers to pick from her garden to send home with me. I would give her an extra thank you for the quilts she made for my bed, the quilts she made for my babies, the hats and mittens she knit for all of us. I found an old picture the other day of all 9 of her grandchildren dressed in matching play-clothes that she had sewed for us. And I remember, with regret, that I didn’t thank her enough for the incredible cocoa brown sweater she knit for me, using the seed stitch (popcorn stitch), when I was in 5th grade. My sister’s was bright yellow, which I wanted (and eventually inherited from her). I remembered that sweater because I have just now finished making one with that same cocoa brown in it, seed stitch and all, and that old sweater came rushing to mind. I would like to sit with her in her screened in porch and say, “Thank you, Grandma, for every stitch, spending your time thinking of me. I love that color now. I know you must have loved it then.” Finally, I would tell her that one of the best surprises in my life was when she sent me homemade cookies at college. This grandmother who I never talked to, the one who was tall and severe and aloof, knew what all grandmothers know, that cookies are for those you love. And when I bake them with my granddaughter, Grandma is watching over my shoulder. Cannon Falls is about 1000 miles from here, and I probably will head up to Minnesota when this virus is past. I will try to find my way home via a thousand images and scents and paths to that vanished Minnesota that I love. --Cynthia |
Archives
January 2022
To subscribe and receive notification of new posts, download a feed reader:
RSS Feed Reader then click the RSS Feed button above. |