Back After 288 Days!!

It has been 288 days since my last post...but who's counting, right???  I wasn't counting until just a few minutes ago, and now I am shocked that it has been soooooo long!! 

To make a really long story short, I realized last October that enjoying 60 new experiences in my 60th year just wasn't going to happen!  Too many of my ideas required more time, both at home and away, than I had anticipated, and most weeks I was struggling just to keep up with my day-to-day life!  Many, many times I would comment to my hubby that I just wished that things would get back to 'normal'.  And as he does so well, he would look me straight in the eye and calmly say, "Honey, this is our 'new normal'.  You need to get used to it."

And so, I am getting used to our 'new normal'....caring for our aging parents...helping when we can with our 10 children and 10 grandchildren...and learning how to age gracefully ourselves.  God has gifted us with lives that are amazingly full of love, wonder, joy, and much needed grace.  Living our 'new normal' lives has been so much fun on most days, but also heartbreaking on others.  In both cases, God has been faithful to walk besides us, and at times, to carry us when the going was tough.

So...here is the deal!  I have decided, with some encouragement from others, to keep working on my list of new adventures and sharing them with you as they happen!  It will be more like, "60 New Adventures IN my 60's"!!!  I have had several new adventures since my last post and I will be sharing them with you in the next few days!

Thank you for your patience with me...so many of you have commented on the lack of posts...but all have been understanding as you have walked through these past several months with me.  

Let the FUN continue!!!

Adventure #9...Baling Hay...Nevada Style!!

First of all...yes...I know it! Adventure #9 should come before #10, but for some reason I forgot to post #9 before I posted #10! No biggie...here it is!

This new adventure was one of those 'on the fly' adventures...not at all planned, but an adventure none the less!

In September, two of my sons, Ross and Andrew, decided that it was time to take Grandpa Wolf (age 88) to Nevada to visit his brother, Howard (age 90). So the four of us, (I wanted to tag along!) loaded into my little 'bumble bee' and headed north. Before we left, Grandpa rounded up some cash, gave it to Ross, and designated him 'the banker' for our little trip. My Dad ALWAYS wants to pay for EVERYTHING whatever we are doing, so this time, we decided to go along with it...this trip was on HIM!

Our two days and one night with my Uncle Howard and Aunt Barbara were wonderful! They are the parents of five of my cousins, and it was fun to spend time with three of them, Joanne, Gayle and Danny, and this adventure is about 'baling hay' with Danny!

On our second day on the Wolf Ranch in Fallon, Nevada, Danny was headed out to bale some alfalfa hay that will be used to feed their cattle in the cold, winter months ahead. When I saw the big tractor and baler, I just knew that I HAD to get up in it and take it for a spin! I explained my "60 New Adventures" to Danny, and away we went!! He patiently told me about all of the 'gadgets' in the cab that would help me straddle the rows of cut alfalfa, pick it up and bale it into HUGE bales of hay, weighing almost a ton each. I loved it!!


After making a couple of rounds, we stopped our rig and got out to see how well I did! We measured the moisture content of a couple of the mammoth bales to make sure it was dry enough to be baled...it was...and to make sure I had picked up all of the hay that was in the rows...I had! Adventure #9 was a success!!






Of course, Ross and Andrew both had to take turns baling a little hay, and my Dad and Uncle had fun watching the show from their little 'gator'. It was a good day in Fallon...brothers watching their kids and grand kids 'working' on the family ranch!

My Uncle Howard, Dad, Bob, and sons, Andrew and Ross!

Adventure #10...Taking Photography to the Next Step...a Very Tiny Step, But A Fun One!

This adventure truly is one that has been on my "bucket list" for a few years! As many of you may know, I LOVE taking pictures!! To leave home without a camera is almost as disastrous as leaving home without my cell phone! My little 'point-n-shoot' is always in my purse and often I will throw my Canon Rebel in, "just in case" I really need it! So the fact is...if you always carry a camera, you are always taking pictures...and if you are always taking pictures, then you have LOTS of them...and I DO!!!

(As a side note: just last night and this morning, I spent several hours transferring photos from my laptop to my external hard drive and CDs. I am becoming very diligent about backing up my files after my old computer crashed several years ago, and I lost most of my photos. Luckily daughter-in-love, Amy, was able to retrieve a bunch of them after searching for a long time...and yes, I actually cried real tears over 'spilt milk' aka 'lost photos'!)

Well, back to my new adventure! This year I decided that it was time to enter a photo into the Photography and Fine Arts exhibit at the Fresno Fair! I realize that this isn't very exciting to the masses, but for a photography buff, it was FUN! I had been thinking about doing this for a long time, but didn't start early enough hunting through the 1000's of photos that I have on my laptop, (current count: 21,654...and that is after moving six months to the 'trash'!), so I decided to go with 2 of my favorites, one of grand daughter, Mary, dressed up as a bride, and the other is of my niece, Elyse, dressed up as a REAL bride on her wedding day.

So, the selection was made, the enlargements were ordered and picked up, a trip to Office Max for foam board and spray adhesive was taken, an online application was filled out, the fees were paid, little hooks were attached and I was ready to head to the fairgrounds to deliver my photos! It was so much fun walking into the building and seeing hundreds of other photos, knowing that mine would hopefully be hanging among them when the "Big Fresno Fair" opened it's gates in October! Both photos were accepted (I don't think they turn too many away unless they are inappropriate in some way!), and the young lady at the desk handed me two receipts to turn in when I picked up my entries after the fair was over. I DID IT!! Adventure #10!!!

Grand daughter, Mary and our photo!

The fair has come and gone...my photos hung among hundreds of others...and I made just one trip to the Photography and Fine Arts Building several days after opening day to see my entries! I received several texts and a couple of phone calls from friends and family who spotted my pictures as they 'mosied' through the exhibit...and no, I did not win "Best of Show"...or any award, for that matter....but there is always next year, and I am already thinking about which photo will make the 'cut'! I'm also trying to talk a couple of my daughters into entering with me...maybe one of us will be lucky and bring home a ribbon!!

Life Happens...and the Blog Gets Put on the Back Burner!

Life as a 'blogger' is way more difficult than I ever dreamed it would be!! You would think that as much as I enjoy talking, I would equally enjoy blogging, but it just doesn't work that way. I think about my blog just about every day, and I feel guilty when I don't open my cute little Mac and start typing away, but life has really been 'happening' these days and my blog... plus dusting, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms and most laundry, has really taken the backseat!

I'm not going to bore you with all of the details of my life, but I would like to share an incident with you that has changed my daily life considerably...and my emotional life as well. On September 6, my mom, Harriet Wolf, took a spill in her home and fractured her left hip. She was admitted to St. Agnes, and had surgery on the 10th. She is now recuperating and in daily therapy at the California Armenian Home in Sunnyside. This was such a wake-up call for our whole family about how quickly things happen, and how accidents like this can alter our daily lives. We quickly realized how much we love our parents (and grandparents), how much they mean to us, and how sad we are for them when they are hurting.

My mother will turn 87 tomorrow and my father is almost 89, so we feel very fortunate that they have both been so healthy and independent for so many years. My dad no longer drives a car...but still loves being on a tractor now and then, and he just got a Gator to 'putt' around the ranch on...but it has been very difficult for him to depend on family members for rides to visit my mom. We have a fairly large family who have been great to help out with rides and meals for Grandpa, and who visit Grandma on a daily basis, but we will all be so grateful when she is well enough to come home again and be with her 'sweetheart' of 66 years!

Please pray for my parents as they navigate this season of their life...it is not easy, but they are both strong people and are greatly in love with the Lord, and are looking forward to seeing Him face to face...in His perfect timing.


Now, more than ever, I am so grateful that we took the time for a family photo in June. On June 16, 2011, 44 of us (plus another to arrive in 3 weeks), all got cleaned up, put on our jeans, and met at the 'old barn'. It is great having a photographer in the family, our daughter-in-love Amy! Somehow she got us all arranged by families and started clicking away. The end result is priceless...seeing Grandpa and Grandma surrounded by a family that loves and adores them, and greatly appreciates all that they have done for us! I highly encourage every family to take the time and make a little effort to get together for a family photo...you will never regret it!

Adventure #8...PJ's in Public!!!

I know, I know...some of you are rolling your eyes at this new adventure of mine, but this was definitely a FIRST for me!! I have hesitated including it in my list, but since I am soooo far behind, I decided to just bite the bullet and post it!

In August, we visited Morro Bay with our son, Ross, our daughter-in-love, Coll, and two of our grandchildren, Spencer and Ryder. On our last night there, we celebrated Spencie's 3rd birthday at our beach house and then decided to take a walk down to the wharf to watch the sun set. For some reason that I cannot remember, I was already in my PJ's and ready to settle in for the evening! But the walk sounded fun, and I will always jump at a chance to watch a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so now the dilemma arose....do I change back into my 'play clothes' or stay in my comfy PJ's and go out in public??? D-I-L Coll is pretty much all about comfort, and she quickly pointed out that my pajama bottoms resembled black knit pants with polka dots, which is precisely what they are, and that no one would know that they were pajamas. So the decision was made...no changing...and a 'first' for my list!

So, as unexciting as it is...'pajamas in public' made the cut for my list....and now on to more adventures!!

I Need Your Help...

Dear Readers!

I need your help for a couple of my 'new adventures'!! I am collecting blankets, 60 or MORE!, for Fresno homeless, to be given out this winter when the weather turns cold. If you have any used, but warm blankets, that you would like to contribute to this 'adventure', please let me know and I will be happy to make arrangements to get them from you! I HATE BEING COLD, and I am sure that there are many people in our community that hate it too, that we can help.

Also, I would love to round up 60, or MORE, baby blankets for the Fresno Pregnancy Care Center! After having 5 children of my own, I do have quite a few baby blankets stored away that we will never use again, but I definitely don't have 60!! The PCC is a wonderful ministry in Fresno and they can always use baby blankets to share with the women who are in their care.

Thank you...thank you...THANK YOU...for considering partnering with me on these 2 'adventures'! We can be Jesus' hands as we reach out to those around us!!

Blessings...Colleen

PS...A HUGE 'Thanks' to my sweet Mom for being the first to contribute to my blanket collection! While helping her clean out her linen closet, we found several great blankets that she no longer needed...they were the 'seed' for this adventure!

Gift Card WINNERS!!!

I'm soooo excited to announce that my 'followers' list is growing and that the first TWO winners...yes, TWO winners, are sisters, Julie and Miriam!! The first 'winning number', known only to my hubby and me, was #26! Julie and Miriam became 'followers' #25 and #26, and since I'm not sure which joined my blog first, I am going to send them each a $5 gift card!!

The decision to send them BOTH a card was easy! Julie is a newly expectant mommy...of twins, and Miriam is a first-year nursing student!!! Now, wouldn't you think that they both could use a grande caramel macchiato one of these days?

THANKS Julie and Miriam for 'following' my blog...and for being such a special part of my life for over 25 years, Julie, and for your ENTIRE life, Miriam! I love you both immensely... am proud of you both...and pray for you often!

So, girls, send me gift card choice...Starbucks was just an idea...and I will get them in to the mail to you!!