Touchstone Tuesday

This touchstone dates back 

to 1986.

Our first son had just been born 

and was just a precious few weeks old

when my husband went on a 45-day 

humanitarian tour of duty to Bolivia.

(they remodeled a hospital)

(he was TDY to us military folk)

I didn't think I'd make it through those 45 days.

It seemed like such a long time to me then!

I felt badly that Lincoln had to leave

and miss those precious days away from our baby.

When he came home he had several souvenirs

but this one was special to me.

I had always wanted a "Last Supper" picture for my kitchen.

My grandma had one, and I spent hours studying it.

This one has hung in every kitchen I've had over the years.

My niece Stevie was looking at it one day and told me

"I know the story of that picture"

and continued on and told me about the last supper.

A precious moment!!!

Most of the "stuff" in our home has a story behind it.

I've always wondered how this "stuff" would be treated after we are gone.

Because hardly anyone . . . . even my children

know the stories and really does anyone really care

but me?

Now they can live on in my blog . . . 

throw the object away,

which is probably the best thing to do . . . . 

why clutter your life with "stuff"?

but maybe someone will read the stories someday and appreciate them.

This is made out of some kind of metal and has a raised surface (an engraving?) and is probably about 20X14.

Touchstone Tuesday

This touchstone was acquired at an accidental destination.

We were on a cruise, 

and the ship was having to dodge 

TWO hurricanes!

Incredibly we felt totally safe, 

despite the hurricanes,

because we had constant updates from the ship's captain,

and he explained our several course changes.

One port we pulled up to wouldn't even let us dock.

The ship backed out of port and we were off to somewhere else.

My favorite days on a cruise are the days "at sea"

so we shrugged our shoulders and said "oh well."

Hakuna Matata!!!

We did dock at The Grand Turk (not on the itinerary!)

The COOLest thing about this place was that the shores

were littered

with huge conch shells. 

nO kIdDiNg!

My son McKay was so upset with me

that I'd only let him take 

ONE

back to the ship!

In my defense, 

these were "reject" conches,

not the pretty shined up ones that you buy of the shelf.

But VERY NEAT, none-the-less to find them.

Actually the sand on the beach was made up of 

very finely broken up conch shells.

AMAZING!

A fridge magnet to remind us of this amazing beach!

Touchstone Tuesday

Another turtle!

This little guy came from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

It is interesting that once you start traveling the Caribbean

and Mexico you notice that all the souvenirs

are all about the same.

This wasn't true in Cabo.

There were some really unique things there.

This touchstone is about 2 inches in length.

This turtle is all stone.

The guy I bought this from told me that all of the 

raw materials on this turtle came from Mexico.

Why is this important to me?

There are a lot of little nik-naks that you buy,

 thinking that you have something from the region,

and then you flip them over and what does it say?

"Made in China"  UGGGGG!

As far as I know, this was made in MEXICO!

Pretty little guy!  

Touchstone Tuesday

This touchstone was acquired just last year in Myrtle Beach.

I've said earlier that I really like turtles for some reason or other.

My little niece, Stevie, has played with my "bobble-head" turtles

for many years.

She knows I like turtles!!!

We were in a gift shop in Myrtle

when she ran up to me saying,

"Aunt Tina, Aunt Tina,

"I found some turtles for you!"

I thought these were so cute.

A papa, mama and baby turtle 

(bobble-heads)
made out of shells!

Thanks Stevie for scoping them out for me!

Touchstone Tuesday

I love where we live right now because it is so beautifully green.

We are from Utah.

Utah has it's beauty,

You just need to look at the beauty of Utah with a different kind of "eye"

to find it.

There are certain areas of Utah
where the beauty

just smacks you in the face with all it's majesty.

Our fridge Magnet.  The hike known
as Walter's Wiggles.

When Halley got married back in 2007,
and we traveled to Utah for her reception,

we decided that we needed to take a trip down to southern Utah,

and show our boys The Canyon Lands.
(Why do you wait to do the things you should-a done
while you actually live in a place?!)

The Canyon Lands are
unbelievably BEAUTIFUL!

and in June they are

HOT!
(Unbelievably)

We dealt with temperatures up into the hundreds.

118 degrees Fahrenheit was the highest temp I remember. 

In Vegas (nearby) they were registering temps in the high 120's 

that week. CrAzY hOt!

We all had camelbacks filled with Gaterade

which became warm very fast.  

Warm Gaterade . . . . . 

JOY!
NOT!

Let's just say I was NOT a happy camper!

And YES, we were c.a.m.p.i.n.g  in that heat!
In tents (no a.c.)

The desert is a funny place.

You fry in the daytime and freeze at night . . . . 

seriously!

We have sooooooo many memories of this.

Some good, some bad.

This is the trip where my son broke his back

and I felt responsible . . . . I still feel responsible.

This is the trip where we conquered amazing things.
We hiked amazing trails and reached new heights.

Isn't that the way most things are in life?

We feel more joy because we feel more pain?

the pain makes the joy possible?

I'm just glad the pictures don't show (much)

my complete discomfort with the heat and distress I felt.

It really was a trip to remember!

Forgive all the pictures . . . . there are just too many good ones!

A kind soul (there are lots of kind souls in Utah) took our picture.
It was morning, the beginning of our hike, and heating up fast!

My hubby and sons were so kind to take m.a.n.y breaks for me.  I'm a horrible hiker.  My heart beats so fast
and my head feels like it wants to split open and let the heat out the top of it . . . . . . . .
See?  I'm  still whining after all these years!

Looking down at what we had hiked, and this was JUST the beginning of this hike!

Chancy. at the bottom of  Walter's Wiggles (the one on the fridge magnet)

Looking down on Walter's Wiggles.

Justin and Chancy at the top of Angel's Landing.

Justin, Looking down from Angel's Landing.

At the bottom of a slot Canyon.   Where did  Justin get the energy to continue to act like a billy goat?

I found a good rock to sit on and cool off a bit . . . . . it was nicer at the bottom of this canyon.
(Chancy joined me for a while)

Down another slot canyon.  I didn't go on this hike.  I found a shade tree and took
a much needed rest!

We used Zion's shuttle service.  There was a family on the bus talking about how many states they had visited.
They came up with 9 and were so proud.  Lincoln and I started talking about it, and it would have been easier
for us to list the states we HADN'T visited!!!!!  We just let the family bask in their glory!!

I love this picture . . . . it is now the background of my laptop computer.  Me and my boys!
Bryce Canyon.

So gorgeous!  (no not me!!!)  

Yes, he is gorgeous!!!  This shows the trail we had hiked so far!

It was so hot, that I convinced Lincoln that we needed to take the horse tour around Bryce instead of hiking it all.
A fateful decision.  I can finally look at these pictures and not feel queasy.  See the caps we had on?  We
were warned not to wear them because they spooked the horses when they blow off of your head.  There was not
a breath of a breeze and so we kept them on.

Happy as a clam! (hmmm are clams happy?)

You wouldn't believe it from this "capless" picture than a mini cloud burst stormed through the canyon,
flipped our caps off and spooked the horse that Justin was on which caused the horse to gallop off on the
opposite direction and successfully get rid of its rider.  Poor Justin.  It was the first time he had been on a horse
since he was a toddler and didn't know what to do.

Me handing out the caps . . . . an ambulance ride, an emergency room visit and an x-ray showed that
Justin had broken a small bone in his back.
YIKES . . . . what a journey that started.  He still feels pain from that accident.

Just a picture I like . . . . . I think those were the storm clouds that violently blew in and out of the canyon.

The desolate beauty of Utah. and the beginning of our 35 plus hour trip home.  We were going to visit the
Grand Canyon on this trip, but because of the accident decided to just go home.

 The Joy . . . . . The pain . . . . .

LIFE.

Touchstone Tuesday

I love this "hear no evil, see no evil and say no evil" theme!
(a fridge magnet)

Lincoln and I have taken 2 "work" trips to Hawaii.

I'm going to focus on the first trip.  

There was a conference for the Air National Guard in Hawaii

and so several of Lincoln's coworkers and their wives went on this trip.

While the guys were working,

the gals would find a beach somewhere and Veg.

When the guys weren't working we would do some 

POWER sight seeing.  

There was NO beach sitting when we were with the men!

I was three month's pregnant with my last child,

so this was 16 years ago.

I was a Utahn then and hadn't spent much if any time at a beach.

The beaches in Hawaii are varied.  

There was course sand, almost powder-sugar-like sand,

and if I remember right, on one of the bases (military)

there was even black sand. 

I think this started my love affair with beaches.

After we were home from the trip 

and I was feeling stress,

I would close my eyes and try to take myself back 

to those beaches in Hawaii

and I would feel better. 

Other things I saw/learned in that 1st Hawaii trip:

Japanese people do not know what a line is.

This lack of "line" etiquette

could be interpreted as rudeness, but is just a cultural difference.

They also have a capacity to squat-sit on their haunches for hours

with seemingly no fatigue whatsoever.

(have you seen this?)

AMAZING!

Some Hawaiians really don't like us white people.

They call us Haole - - 

(as explained by a Native, we don't have the "breath-of-life")

When I would tell people the names of my children

they would look at me weird when I would tell them

my daughter's name,

Halley, which sounds an awful lot like Haole.

White people are also responsible for all the "bad" things in Hawaii.

(I'd be mad at us too.)

We brought them rats, mosquitoes and cock roaches.

Can you imagine a world without them?

Hawaii WAS without them before the white man.

A true paradise!

 (lost)

Hawaii was beautiful.

The Polynesian cultural center was Fantabulous!

and is almost the only place you truly see the Hawaiian culture.

Luau's are great fun.

I ate my first p.u.r.p.l.e roll there.

Fresh Pineapple is to die for!

Having a gecko in your hotel room is "a good thing."

(otherwise you'd deal with the cockroaches)

Interstate Highways exist on the Island.

Interstates . . . . . . what state are they connecting with?

I think that just means the federal government paid for the road!!!

What a fun trip!

Touchstone Tuesday

We always seem to piggy-back our family vacations

off of Lincoln's work trips.

He had a work trip that he was going to need to drive a lot.

He gets paid mileage, a small stipend for food and the hotel.

WHY NOT go?

The states in the trip were Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

This area is STEEPED in history.

It is great to learn history first hand and on the spot.

This particular stop had us in Plymouth, Mass

where the pilgrims first set foot on "Plymouth Rock."

How surreal it felt to be in the area where all this history took place!

Here is the small wood carving we picked up as a "touchstone."

Here are Justin, Mckay, Halley and Chancy leaning/sitting on the
structure guarding "plymouth rock."

It's hard to see how big this rock is . . . .  It is really a lot smaller than I expected.
Apparently it is much smaller than it was originally as people have knocked
and scraped off pieces of it for keepsakes.   The rock has quite a history and if you are so inclined
here is a link to that history.    http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/History/tour5.php

We visited a replica of the "Mayflower."

We could not pass up a cup of "New England" clam chowder, while in New England.
Poor Hubby was working while we did all of our sight seeing.

I hope the kids remember these trips . . . . . . 

Touchstone Tuesday

When we still lived in Utah

my husband took several work trips to DC.

On one occasion he talked me into going along.

This was another trip without kids.

WHY are these so memorable?

We really DID take our kids on most of our trips!

DC was a dream vacation for me.

This was before we had any CLUE that

we would be moving here

and LIVING our dream vacation.

Thinking back I can't BELIEVE I did some 

of the things I did then.

Ignorance is definitively BLISS.

While Lincoln worked,

 Me, Myself and I

took the GREEN line

 (oh my!) 

downtown, 

wandered around

and saw some of the sites.

I was pretty scared then,

(but probably about the wrong things :)

I had never ridden a subway

and had to figure it out on my own.

I was clueless about DC

and really that was probably the best way to be!

While here/there, I ate my first bonafide Maryland Blue-Crab Dinner.

Maryland is a very "crabby" state!

We ordered all-you-can-eat crab.

Sat down at a table covered in brown butcher paper

decorated with a roll of paper towels.

The waitress brought a bucket of crabs

and DUMPED them on the table,

gave us corn on the cob, rolls,

melted butter, hammers and a bucket,

and

LEFT US TO IT!

I think it took us 2 hours to get enough crab

out of those little critters to satisfy us.

We have recreated this meal several

times for people who come and visit us.

I'm SURE it leaves an impression on them!

I had to have something "crabby" 

for a keepsake/touchstone.

This copper-crab-cookie-cutter fit the bill perfectly!

Touchstone Tuesday

A redwood bowl from the Redwood Forest
It is only about 5"s across.
For a few years it had an actual redwood tree growing in it
that we grew from a nub that was cut off of a host tree.

This touchstone dates back to the early 90's.  

Chancy my third child was probably less a year or so old

when we made a trip to Oregon

and then out to Oregon's coast

and down the coast ultimately to LA and Disneyland.

We did so many things on this trip,

but as far as the bowl goes,

it represents a stop in 

the Redwood Forest.

If you've never seen a Redwood tree

you are really missing something.

It is unbelievable how majestic they are.

Can you imagine a tree big enough to live in?

This is not our car . . . . but it gives you an idea of how big these trees are.

There are only two pictures of us in the Redwood Forest . . . . this one is the
best one, and it is BAD!  We are so YoUnG and tHiN!!!!

Touchstone Tuesday

REMEMBER!!!!!  (The Alamo)

Our "touchstones" are mostly pretty small.
(This one is 3"X 2")

This is one of the few trips that Lincoln and I took by ourselves.

If you consider a trip taken as a "work" trip by ourselves :)  

This trip occurred around the time of our anniversary.  

I remember that Hurricane Katrina had just happened . . .

and although Texas wasn't very involved, they were feeling the ripples 

of the hurricane.

Because Lincoln was working 

I had a LOT of time to spend on my own.

I remember I had just read Mosiah in the Book of Mormon . . . 

and San Antonio is full of beggars . . . . 

(aren't we ALL beggars?)

and when they find out you'll give,

you can imagine what happened.  

I quickly went and exchanged my 20's for 1's.

I never felt unsafe, however.  

They were nice beggars.
(I'm wondering if the word beggar
is Politically Correct . . . . .  LOL)

Lincoln, bless his heart let me give away plenty of money that week.

I rented a car and went to see the Alamo 

along with a some other "missions" that were in and around San Antonio.

BY MYSELF . . . . fun times!

Lincoln, because it was our anniversary wanted me to go for a "spa" treatment.

I, instead, went and got my haircut,

and for the first time e.v.e.r purchased a flat iron,

had the hairdresser teach me how to use it,

and started straightening my VERY CURLY hair.

which was definitely different for me!!

The rest is history.

After my hair appointment I went to lunch with Lincoln

where his co-workers were giving me very curious looks.

When I finally spoke, one of the men said,

"THANK GOODNESS it's YOU, Tina,

I thought Lincoln was with "another woman"!!!"

This is not the only time I've been accused of being "the other woman."

Lincoln teases that he is married to more than one woman . . . . 

one with straight hair and one with curly.

See what I mean about touchstones?

Look what that little keepsake did for my memory!

Touchstone Tuesday

Lately I've had blogger's block.  I haven't been able to think of a thing to blog about.  I was reading someone else's blog and came upon a entry about "touchstones."  If you look in the dictionary, the definition for an actual "touchstone" isn't anything to what I'm referring to.

A touchstone in this case is explained thusly:

There are so many things we touch everyday with hardly a thought. A butter knife. A pen. A keyboard. Doorknobs. The phone. The steering wheel. Yet sometimes touch lingers on particular things, special things. And there’s a story attached to every piece, isn’t there? Which of your objects tell stories? These objects are touchstones.

So an idea was born!!!  I have many touchstones, and when I read this blogger's post, it gave me validation for having them around.   "Touchstone Tuesday" is hereby given life on my blog.

I'm going to start with one that hasn't been around very long. For some reason, I love turtles.  I have a few of them as touchstones.   This one we acquired in North Carolina at the Biltmore Mansion.  The gift shops were filled with f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s things.  So many fabulous things that I was overwhelmed and I wasn't in the mood to purchase anything (lucky Lincoln!!!)  My family could tell that I loved this turtle.  I passed it by, much to their chagrin.

Lincoln tried to be sly and went back and purchased the turtle for me.  It really touched me that he would do this for me.  I've placed it in my front yard under our Japanese Maple.  He moves occasionally, sometimes he is further under the tree and sometimes not. . . . he doesn't achieve this on his own I'm sure!!! He gives me a shock as I'm walking up the side walk because I forget that he is there and he looks realistic to me!  When I see him I remember how sweet my husband was to go back and make sure I brought home this little guy . . . . .

While I was outside I couldn't resist taking this picture of one of our hosta plants.  My plants all took a beating a couple of years ago with the hailstorm and last year didn't come back very well.  This year they are back with a vengeance!  I love how big these leaves are.  They have a blue tinge to them, which is really pretty.  The world is such a pretty green right now, it almost hurts the eyes!  So beautiful.

I had to do a yoga balancing pose to get my foot in the photo!  Believe me this is hard to do and get a clear picture!

For you Georgia!
On more reflection I think I like turtles because they are a reflection of me.
Hard shell - - - soft underbelly . . . . .