St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery

On Monday Pat, Janet and I drove down to Sonja's (a childhood friend of ours) to join her and her two friends Lynette and Linda, on a little trip to St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery near Florence, Arizona. I had seen photos of this oasis in the desert, but was blown away seeing it for myself. Before we left, we knew the dress code, and did our best to comply. Here is a picture of us prior to leaving Sonja's:

L to R: Linda, Lynette, Pat, Janet, yours truly, Sonja

The drive to the monastery took us through an Indian reservation and very close to the Casa Grande Ruins. And then suddenly, the bland, sandy, scrubby landscape turned into lush green trees. Excitedly we got out of the van and began covering our heads with our scarves to enter this sacred spot. We saw a group of tourists gathered at the gatehouse around a monk and joined them to learn a few facts before taking our self-guided tour.

There are five or six chapels on the grounds, interspersed with beautiful landscaping and fountains. The insides of the chapels strongly reminded me of the churches we visited in Ukraine on our choir mission trip in 2008. There is lots of gold/brass, beeswax candles, and icons. We had permission to go into any of the churches and even take photos. However, we were instructed to never go behind any of the curtained off areas where the altars are located. At one point we saw a visiting nun kneeling in prayer, bowing three times, and then rising to her feet to kiss the icon in front of her. We all commented on how difficult this would be for each of us!

At one part of the grounds, I noticed a man clearing away brush from an orchard. I asked him if the trees were lemon trees. "Yes," he replied. Then I asked if there were olive trees on the grounds. "Yes," he said, but went on to say "I don't have the blessing to speak to you." I apologized and went on my way, not realizing he was one of the monks. Wasn't that a kind way for him to respond? I thought so.

Here are some of the many photos that made this day so special. Double click on them to enlarge.

I loved this journey and hope to remember it for a long while. Such a treat for the eyes in the dry, sandy land.

Sunday in Arizona

Sunday morning my sister and I went to church with friends from our childhood and college days. After the service, we drove to a restaurant where we had a very nice visit. It's always fun to catch up with those we don't see very often.

Once home, we helped Pat and Pudge get ready for the big pot-luck dinner that followed the golf tournament Pudge had put together. There were approximately 120 people who came for the pot-luck, and the food was delicious. I really enjoyed sitting at a couple of tables and making new friends.

Luella (age 88) and Del (age 92). They are delightful folks!

Some of the many neighbors enjoying their dinner.

It took 5 tables to hold all of the food!

"Sunsationals" Tap Dance Revue

When my cousin Pat and her husband Pudge bought their condo in Arizona, she quickly joined the tap dancing troupe at their association. It is called the "Sunsationals," and has been in existence for 25 years. Every other year they put on a big, one and a half hour show, complete with costume changes. This year my cousin, also their current president, was in charge of it. The average age of the dancers in this group is 71 years old. Their eldest member is 87 years old. Honest!

The troupe gave three performances this year—I went to two of them, and they were excellent.

Pat is on the left in the back row.

Pat is on the left in the back row.

The show was very enjoyable. Everybody did an excellent job, and I was fortunate to get front row seats for both shows. There was a lot of variety in dance steps and in music.

Pat, accepting thanks at the conclusion of the show.

By the way, Pat hadn't tap danced since she was a young girl. A few years ago when I was there for Pat's first show, I was seated next to my dear Aunt Liz, and she said, "Well, those dance lessons paid off."

Ah! Arizona in the winter . . .

Last week I left Minnesota when the temperature was minus 2. I have no idea what the wind-chill registered. I stepped off the plane in sunny Phoenix and quickly removed my winter coat and scarf. Warmth – it is so welcome to one who has been shivering for weeks.

Arriving at Pat and Pudge's lovely home, I soon made my way to their patio which sits along the 7th fairway of the golf course. The sunshine and warm temperatures were a draw to the outdoors the entire week I spent there. I got out and walked and really enjoyed myself.

The 7th fairway, golfers in the distance.

We ate many meals on the patio. It was delightful!

Sunsets are gorgeous there.

Corinne turns one!

Friday my youngest grandchild, Corinne, turned one. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me to be at her birthday party, but I was with her in spirit. Brian, her puppy, put a nice post about her on his blog. You can read it here.

Knowing she is my probably my last grandchild, she has had a special place in my heart. Seeing her crawl, getting her first tooth, hearing her little voice—these have all been big events for me. Thankfully, Heidi is good about keeping in touch, sometimes doing facetime so that I can see for myself just how this sweet little girl is progressing.

I hope it won't be long until I can make a trip to Seattle to see her, Marshall, Heidi, Chad and Brian again. Happy Birthday, Corinne!

Back home

Delta Airlines couldn't have been nicer. Shortly after we learned our flight was being delayed, they brought a big array of snacks for us to munch on. I chose this box which contains 3 tiny chicken sandwiches (I ate one—didn't care for it), a protein bar and some orange juice.

After a very long day yesterday which included a 3 hour flight delay in Tokyo and a 12 hour flight, I made it home with 15 minutes to quickly brush my teeth, freshen my make-up, and change my shirt and sweater, to go out the door to drive to choir. Thankfully, my friend Bonnie stuck around to see if my car started before driving away. My battery was dead. I had an inkling it might be due to the very, very cold weather in Minnesota while I was away.

Regretfully, before I left for Japan, I had agreed to substitute for our church choir director on the night of my return. I got there on time, but I really had to work hard at staying alert during the rehearsal. Thankfully I made it through. Afterwards, friends brought me home where it took only a few minutes to get ready for bed. I slept like a rock!

Today I had my car jump started and then went to my car dealership and had a new battery installed. It should be good for a long time.

So my bags are unpacked, laundry is done, I bought a few groceries, and enjoyed a walleye dinner at Culver's. Now is a good time to add some travel pictures. This particular photo is from when our jet was either over Russia or Alaska. The mountains were awesome!

Tour of Hans' ship

The port bow of the destroyer

Flight deck

Yours truly in the Captain's Chair on the bridge

On the table in Hans' stateroom is a model of his ship that he put together.

The ship's crest

A Japanese ship tied up at the next berth

It was a thrill for me to tour this destroyer that is commanded by my son. It was recently in dry dock and is nearly finished with the all of the updates. It looks fresh and awesome. He and his crew have worked very hard and while I was there it passed its inspections.

Heading home

Annika and William

I've really enjoyed my stay in Japan with Hans, Rachel, Josiah, Annika and William—and their cat, Noko. We've been to many fun places; I got to see the Japanese school where Annika and William attend; went to three basketball games that each of my grandchildren played; toured Hans' ship and had lunch with him and Josiah at a nice restaurant on the base. Rachel took me shopping several times and made my stay here extra nice. I have taken the bus completely around the base, and managed to take a taxi home after the bus ride concluded far away from their home (my mistake). I have shopped, watched a movie, played "Trouble" and "Candy Land" with my grandkids; knitted, and walked Annika and William to and from their bus stop. It has been great!

Josiah with his triple decker peanut butter sandwich

Now for the long flight home (12 hours) and back to reality. I have heard I will be returning to subzero temperatures. Ugh! Thankfully I have had a break from that and my eyes have feasted on the sights and sounds of Japan.

Downtown Yokosuka

Liz is seated on the left and the teacher is at the head of the table.

Yesterday Rachel dropped me off at one of the base gates and I walked a block or so to the downtown district of Yokosuka. I have been there each time I have visited Japan, so I know my way around a little bit. My first stop was the knitting store which I have come to love. Just inside is a table with little stools around it and women are gathered there for knitting. One of them is the teacher. I indicated wanting to purchase some yarn and sit with them to knit for a little while. I feel God was watching out for me because one of the women, Liz, spoke perfect English. She told me they were just going to leave for lunch at a Chinese restaurant and would I like to join them. I told her I had just eaten so would look in a few other stores and return at 1 o'clock. [Looking back, it would have been an excellent opportunity for me. But knowing I am a very fussy eater, I didn't want to embarrass myself with turning down the foods on the menu.]

In the meantime, I went to a couple of 100 Yen stores (think Dollar Store) and bought a pair of size 8 knitting needles, plus a few other items. Going past one small shop, I noticed a woman sporting a beautiful kimono. I peeked in the door and she and the clerk invited me in. I asked the woman if I could take her photo and she delightfully agreed – front, back, and her feet. She smiled so pretty. It is these experiences that I love.

Next to that shop was the knitting store. As I entered, Liz, the kind woman who spoke perfect English, asked me to follow her outside and around the corner to a little store that had many mobiles that she wanted me to see. She explained why we had been seeing dolls (a man and woman) in little settings in many of the stores we had visited. It is a build up to Girls' Day which is March 3. On that day hundreds of dolls are placed on the steps to the shrines as a celebration.

Returning to the yarn shop, Liz got me a stool so I could join them and the shop keeper brought a plastic tub for me to put my purse and coat, plus shopping bags. After some deliberation, I chose a yarn and pattern and was going to use the size 8 knitting needles I had purchased at the 100 Yen store. I was nicely informed they were much too large. The kind teacher offered to give me her pair of size 5 needles, but the shop keeper brought me a new set from the store. I offered to pay for them, but Liz told me they were a gift to me! Such kindness.

This is a model of the scarf I am knitting.

The sweetness and kindness of these ladies was overwhelming. Three of them gave me packages of hard candy and Liz translated many of their comments. One of the ladies tried a hat she had knitted on my head. She said the color went well with my hair.  I was having so much fun that I called Rachel (using Josiah's phone) and asked to stay longer. Before I had to leave, Liz wrote her email address down for me and told me to contact her if I had any problems with finishing my scarf. They won't be meeting again until next Tuesday, so I cannot go back today to join them.

I love how God watches out for me and brings special people and events into my life. I feel blessed.