SimplyLife

We enjoy the birdlife around our house--most of the time. We have feeders just outside the courtyard and every morning my husband fills them and tosses a generous amount of cracked corn on the ground.  He even makes "Dave's Special Birdseed Mix" for our feathered friends.  The bagged mixes aren't good enough for our birds.  My job is to keep the hummingbird feeder filled.  Finches, sparrows, wrens, flycatchers, silver cardinals, ladderback woodpeckers, doves, quail, and several different varieties of hummers all frequent the yard.  A vermilion flycatcher has been spotted and in April several pairs of Bullock's orioles will nest in the mesquites.We also have a pair of roadrunners, Prairie falcons, and Great Horned owls that claim Casa Wallace as part of their hunting territory. With so many birds converging on us, there are a few stories to share about our bird adventures.  I'll share the latest. Since this is nesting season, w...

This week was a crazy, busy week. You wouldn't think that would happen with a part time day job and afternoons at home. But, the part time job spilled over into the afternoons and there were a myriad of errands and tasks at home. The few hours left to me were reserved for polishing the novel that is almost ready for the publisher.  My husband's schedule was full of travel, meetings, and rehearsals. Our daughters were experiencing the same busyness. Our youngest was moving to a new house, helping her fiance get ready for a long deployment, along with treating cancer patients. Our oldest was on the run, juggling motherhood, a demanding sales job, and marriage. I suspect that your week may have been similar. It seems our days are crammed with activity, which in the end isn't great for our health or quality of life.  Symptoms of overload include: irritabililty, forgetfulness, inability to focus on a task, headaches, and the knot in the back of your neck. We weren't...

One of my fondest childhood memories is of my mother baking bread. The whole house smelled wonderful and if I timed it right, I could get her to cut off a heel of hot bread and then slather it with butter. A simple, but absolutely wonderful treat. Better than chocolate cake even. James Beard, that very famous chef said, " Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” Bread has been called "the staff of life" and it's basic to every culture, in every part of the world. Look at the wonderful variety, whether its made with yeast or not---lovely loaves of whole wheat, rye, dark pumpernickel, banana, scones, zucchini, biscuits, honey oat, baguette, warm fresh tortillas. It seems any kind of bread is always best right out of the oven, warm and comforting in our hands. Yesterday, I went on bit of a baking binge. It was a windy day, so working outside wouldn't be fun. I baked bread instea...

We lived in the same house for 25 years just outside of our small hometown of Castile. It was a good little neighborhood and was mostly quiet except for the traffic on Route 39. When the signs of spring arrived, it was also time to pile up tree branches, and clean out the garage or the shed of burnable miscellany. Each year there seemed to be a contest between my husband and the next door neighbor to assemble a burn pile of enormous proportions.  Day after day I watched their piles grow until tepee-shaped woodpiles were just right to be torched. There was an art to the arrangement so that it would be totally consumed in a short amount of time. It was sort of like a bonfire on steroids. Now the neighbor enjoyed the element of surprise on the neighborhood and waited for quiet Saturday afternoons to begin his incendiary activity. KABOOM! You would have thought we were under attack by enemy forces. Then there was a rush of wind and the crackling of the k...

While men in mess dress and women in evening gowns made their way to assigned tables, the smell of jet fuel filled the hangar.  The largest presence in the room was the lethal F-16. We were there to honor 13 men of the Mad Mallard Squadron who had just successfully completed their real Top Gun training in this ferociously fast jet. The day before we were privileged to participate in the Blue Carpet activities which began with breakfast provided by the Lady Ducks (wives and significant others of the squadron). We were proud to see our future son-in-law, 1st Lt. Chris Morse accept an award for best strafer at the morning's "briefing." Then it was off for a tour of the air traffic control tower where the team of highly trained, dedicated men and women guide these high flying men on and off the runway. I was deeply impressed with their concern for each pilot and their families as well. After lunch we headed out for a rollicking time in the "Sim" (flight simulato...

The thud was loud and came while I was turning left onto Foothills Drive on Thursday. I continued on to the grocery store hoping that another vehicle hadn't kicked up a stone or thrown something at my Jeep.  No damage was found when I got into the parking lot, so the noise remained a mystery until I headed home. The rush of fresh air surprised me as I slowed for a traffic light. I looked over my shoulder to see the rear passenger window sliding down without benefit of the little control switch. Rats!  I saw dollar signs float out the disabled window. I notified my trusty husband of the problem, and he inspected the window upon arrival at home. He proceeded to the computer to research spontaneous sliding windows in Jeeps. Apparently it was one of those "known" issues with the Jeep Liberty. Sigh! The bill to fix it at the dealership was a whopping $400. This would not do. It would not do at all. After getting the necessary part from the dealer on Friday, he...

Labradors have to be about the goofiest dogs out there. The AKC breed description says a Lab should be "a strongly built, shortly coupled, very active dog. The hallmark of the breed is the "otter tail." The ideal disposition is one of a kindly, outgoing, tractable nature; eager to please and non-aggressive towards man or animal." No wonder they're America's favorite dog and have been for many years. They're personable, eat just about anything, and have low maintenance coats. However, their tails are dangerous.  They also have a tendency to steal food and hearts. Labs have been in our home for over 20 years. We've had mostly black Labs and one yellow. Our first was a rescue dog we named Sophie. She was an all around family dog. Our girls could do just about anything with her and Sophie was also an outstanding hunter. From woodchucks to muskrats, the  remains of sundry unfortunate critters showed up on our lawn on a regular basis. She faithfully waite...

For those of you who like a good story, especially if it involves the West, I sure have a humdinger this week.  It all happened about 30 minutes from from Casa Wallace in the little border town of Naco, Arizona along with its counterpart, Naco, Sonora on the other side of the line.  The year was 1929. It was before the big crash in October, but things weren't so great in Mexico in the spring of that year. The people were fed up with heavy taxation, corruption, and the government in general. Hmmm...has a familiar ring to it already. Well, some rebel forces organized and began giving the Mexican army a hard time. Naco, Sonora was a pretty rough place with lots of saloons and gambling establishments, so more government intervention in their way of life wasn't welcome. The rebels and the army dug in around Naco, Sonora and began to have daily skirmishes. Since there wasn't much  happening in Naco, Arizona, which is still true to this day, residents brought out chairs...

Last night David and I went to "The Gathering." Now, before you think we've joined a cult, I'll let you know it was the Sierra Vista Cowboy Poetry & Music Gathering. It's affectionally called "The Gathering." For those who live back East, you've probably never heard of an event that's peculiar to the Western states. The crowd of over 1,200 was a sea of cowboy hats, leather fringes, big belt buckles, and fancy embroidered jackets. The performers came from all over. Some were locals from Cochise County and others came from as far away as Texas, New Mexico, California, and even Nashville, TN. The folks sitting next to us were ranchers that live about 10 miles from our home. They were talking about the premature calf that had been born a few nights before at barely 20 pounds.  The little one was doing all right, but had been brought up to the safety of the corral with her mother. They were also talking about the price of a bale of hay which is ...

It's pure liquid gold--sticky,sweet, and  tastes really good on the muffin I'm eating. Of course I'm talking about honey. As a longtime honey lover, buckwheat honey has always been a favorite, but now that distance precludes that treat, mesquite blossom has become the flavor of choice. The vendors at the weekly farmers' market have the best choice here with a variety of flavors. The Killer Bee Guy from Bisbee has a good selection of honey mustards too, that range from chipotle to roasted garlic.  Bees in Arizona are all pretty much Africanized which means they're killer bees. However, the bees in our yard are desert honey bees and not killers. At least we don't think so. You should however respect these industrious insects and not irritate them. The results could be painful and sometimes downright dangerous. Bees are highly organized and the division of labor within a hive is clear. The queen is in charge. The drones keep the queen happy so she can keep the n...

The wild West is alive and well where we live. Tombstone is an easy drive for an afternoon of strolling the boardwalks, getting some BBQ, and chatting with cowboys, gunslingers, and "soiled doves." Every self-respecting American knows about the gunfight at the OK Corral. We've romanticized it in film for decades. Personally I enjoy the 1993 version with Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell. There are quite few tales of violence and western justice in our area that are not as well known as the OK Corral incident. Bisbee, which snatched the designation of county seat in Cochise County after the Tombstone silver ran out has some tales of its own. Since winter is upon us and a story is always good by the fire, sit a spell while I tell you the about the Bisbee Massacre. On a cold December night in 1883, five outlaws rode into Bisbee and commenced robbing the largest mercantile in town with the goal of snagging the Copper Queen Mine's payroll of $7,000. The Phelps Dodge...

Hidden treasures---maps---encrypted clues to decode.  Remember those childhood games of buried treasure, secret codes, great games of pretend when we were pirates and spies? I got that flashback  when we mobilized for our first geocaching hunt. With a handheld GPS, a list of decoded clues, and coordinates from a geocaching website, we headed out to see if we could actually find these caches of trinkets. What fun to find out that trails we'd hiked previously were full of these caches! After a false start on the first search, the hiking trip up an abandoned railroad bed and into a nearby canyon yielded four finds. Each was different. One was a metal box full of odds and ends--a nickel, key chain, etc. The next merely a geocache pin which we walked around for a few minutes before identifying it. It looked like a bottle cap at first glance. Then a Navy ammo tin tucked under a huge boulder and some smaller rocks. I signed the log book and continued up the...

I've begun another decluttering tour this week. After the holidays it seems like paper, assorted magazines, and just plain junk have taken over counters, tables, nooks, crannies, etc. There are all those little instruction pamplets for new coffee makers, toys, GPS devices. Then there are magazines that have been saved throughout the year for one or two recipes and sometimes a decorating idea. The Christmas cards and letters...they're too pretty to throw out...right? The closets are bursting at the seams, the garage is a mess. It's an overwhelming task if you take it on all at once, so I've developed a system over the years to take a few minutes a day and eliminate one area of clutter at a time. Since clutter equals chaos and order equals tranquility for me, it's a task necessary for mental health, along with a sense of order. You know--a place for everything and everything in its place. Sometimes the place is the garbage. First, why do it? It's only going to g...

I love a new year.  A mental list of projects begins to bubble, just like yeast and warm water happily work together. I get excited about tossing out the accumulation of "stuff" in closets, in the garage--everywhere. The seed catalogs begin to arrive and gardening plans bloom exponentially. Everything seems possible in the new year moment. My husband gets that "deer in the headlights" look as I attempt to include him in all of the reorganization and project lists. Then there are those fresh blank calendars to write in birthdays and anniversaries, holidays, and meetings for work. (The fresh inky paper even smells good.) I'll bet there are quite a few of you that enjoy the calendar thing. Those nice little squares begin to fill with activities that are planned, orderly, and mostly happy. In my very Type "A" way, I  write them onto the paper, enter them into my electronic calendar, and set reminders to pop up at the right time on the computer screen. Th...

Tonight we celebrated Christmas Eve on the border. Just a block away from the church, the lights of the U.S./Mexican border glared into the starry darkness. The ancient story was told in Spanish and English. The pageant had all the components --angels, shepherds, wisemen, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. No doll was in this production. A baby boy with a cute faux-hawk and proper swaddling sat placidly on Mary's lap while angels sang and shepherds visited. The wisemen came later with their gifts -- each held his gift aloft for us to see. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.The myrrh slipped to the floor, but no damage was done. The angels remained angelic throughout, their tinsel halos stayed in place. Everyone joined together at the end to sing Feliz Navidad. It was a great way to celebrate the holy night. A Christmas pageant like so many others, but with its own unique flavor that added to the meaning of the night. Hearing the Scripture in both languages, the fam...

The small parking lot was a nightmare. Vehicles were jammed into each space, some a little crooked and others taking up more than their share. Sigh...the line at the counter would probably be long. It was one little package. It was even a flat rate, properly addressed and taped box, but it had to go today. Sure enough, at least ten people were huddled in a makeshift line that wound towards the imposing counter where two postal clerks stood. The end of the line was more like a clot of humanity, some uncertain where they fit into the progression. There was some milling, dithering, and then positions were locked in. Sigh...order was required for the postal line. Eyes went directly to what was in each person's hands. Instant judgments were made about the time that would be taken at the counter. Two large men, one older and one younger stood side by side, each with a pile of packages up to their noses. There was a certain atmosphere of male competition in the air. After standing in ...

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell of the miraculous circumstances and birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I never tire of reading about the angel visiting Mary, Joseph, and Zacharias. Or of the verses about the shepherds being scared out of their wits by an angel invasion, and taking off for Bethlehem to verify the angel's proclamation. And of course the passage about the wisemen heeding the angel's warning in a dream, sneaking out of Judea by an alternate route. Read the first couple of chapters in Luke and Matthew to see for yourself. Miracles do happen during the Christmas season, although technically Jesus was most likely born sometime in September. This year marks four years since our own December miracle, which was actually a double miracle. Our grandsons turn four this week. And yes, the birth of a baby is always a miraculous thing, but quite frankly these boys are exceptional miracles.  Because of Twin-to-Twin Tranfusion...

Okay. I admit it. I'm a Christmas music junkie. I sneak in Christmas tunes before Thanksgiving. Now that the season is in full swing, I'm listening unabashedly to Andy, Bing, Perry, Mel, Tony, and a host of others. The classic songs are still the best in my humble opinion. Christmas music demands an orchestra and mellow, mature vocals. And I can't forget the Charlie Brown Christmas music byVince Guaraldi. It always puts me in the Way Back Machine to my childhood. You're smiling already. I'll be listening to the playlist below while decorating today.                                                       *         ...

Groan...leftovers...the refrigerator is stuffed with an assortment of containers filled with mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole...and turkey. Then there are the laundry leftovers. Piles of sheets and towels lie on the floor awaiting their turn in the washer. I've already Windexed the fingerprints and nose print evidence from the patio door.  The floors have been vacuumed,  dispatching the crumb and dirt evidence. Order has been restored to the empty nest. You'd never know that three days ago the house was crammed with adults, kids, and dogs. There isn't much evidence that anything out of the ordinary happened if you look around or is there? The CSI characters reconstruct the crime from the leftovers-blood, ammo, tire tracks, etc. I'm reconstructing the holiday with the leftovers.  The mashed potatoes mean our oldest daughter was here peeling, mashing, and adding secret ingredients for silky smooth and delicious potatoes. The swe...

Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 106:1 It's Thanksgiving week! Visions of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole,  pies, and carb overload are dancing through my head along with sleeping arrangements, linen supplies, and bathroom logistics. Our home will be full of family - three generations this year and a very special longtime friend will join us too. We'll resume our family tradition of watching A Christmas Story after dinner-something we haven't been able to do as an extended family for several years. Of course there'll be football throughout the day and napping, although I'm not sure you can do that with two 3-year olds running around. Maybe I can talk my husband into building a cozy fire in the fireplace and our girls will entertain us with some piano duets. I imagine you're now running through your schedule of events for Thursday. It's proba...