What I Am Missing

For some reason, I have been missing three things recently.

These three things are California, and being on an African safari. I also miss living in a city with a downtown area. I will explain.

I left California more than 11 years ago when I retired. I could have stayed in my little house in the area south of San Francisco, but I needed to take my daughter away from the toxic 'friends' that led her into trouble. And I didn't want to be tied to a mortgage for a couple of decades after retirement.

I really liked New Mexico, so we moved here a month after I retired. I bought a beautiful house roughly twice the size of my California house, with amazing mountain views and 1/2 acre of land. And it cost a whole lot less than my little house in California.

I still love my current house, but at the same time, I also miss California. I miss the temperate Mediterranean climate and the wonderful farmers' markets held weekly throughout the year. I miss the easy access to Trader Joe's. But I don't miss the high cost of living, the traffic, the houses crammed together, the high taxes and the high price of everything.

I also really miss going on safari in Africa, something I have done nine times in the past few years. I have been to Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. My most recent trip was in April of this year. Some trips were all about photography, while others were 'just' safaris. But as I told a couple of friends with whom I have traveled to Africa, I make every trip a photo safari simply by taking my cameras and lenses with me each time we leave on a game drive.

I can no longer afford to buy a house in California, so moving back there is not an option. The house I sold in 2010 is now more than twice as expensive. Even tiny 800-square-foot homes sell for just under $1 million. But with sub-freezing temperatures now upon us, I do greatly miss the moderate climate of California. But it's really nice not having a monthly mortgage payment.

i still longingly look at houses in the San Francisco area online, but not surprisingly, they are all out of reach unless I am willing to settle for an 800 square foot condominium that costs twice as much as my 2,300 square foot house. That is not how I want to spend my life, and I'm sure my dogs wouldn't like it, either. 

Finally, I miss living in a city with a downtown area. The city where I lived in California didn't have much of a downtown, but one city over did have a downtown that was just a block long. It was filled with restaurants and quirky shops, and it hosted the farmers' market each Saturday. And it was nicely decorated for the Christmas season, and just a block away from a mall.

I have a photography trip planned to California this winter, and a photography trip to Nzmibia next year, as well as a photography trip to Tanzania planned for 2023. In the meantime, I keep busy with travel to other interesting places, always accompanied by one or more cameras..

I know I can't have everything I want all the time, and I am truly fortunate to live the life I have in retirement. I just wish I could bring California's weather back with me when I finish my next visit to the Golden State!

I Have Found 'The Perfect Gift'

Recently while reviewing some of my posts from years past, I came across one from 2017 that struck a chord with me, regarding the search of so many people for 'the perfect gift.'

What is 'the perfect gift' about which commercials breathlessly -- and loudly -- babble endlessly? Why does the search for 'the perfect gift' cause people to rush to the malls in the dark, stand in the cold, and risk life and limb to buy things they can't afford?

After visiting Africa 10 or 11 times over the past few years, my perspective on what is important has changed considerably. Never one to engage in the mad dash to buy 'the perfect gift,' I am now even more aware of the crushing poverty that envelopes so much of the world. And having that knowledge has made me even more resolved to do something to help.

Prior to starting on a safari in South Africa, I visited the Soweto region of Johannesburg, a very impoverished area. I learned about the after-school program operated by the Kliptown Youth Program that offers tutoring and computer skills to students, as well as sports and arts. I also saw the one-room tin shack in which a mother and her children lived. The community was excited to have recently obtained access to running water -- not in each shack, but through a community pump. Details are available at: https://www.kliptownyouthprogram.org.za/

I visited Ethiopia, where starvation and poverty continue to afflict much of the population.

A few years ago a friend and I visited a school in rural Kenya that has no electricity or running water, only a few books, no computers or high-tech equipment. Each classroom has dirt floors, and the children, all neatly dressed in uniforms, walk miles to school every morning and home again in the afternoon. Another group I follow on Facebook posted about the shoes the children wear, made of old rubber tires. American children would be mortified to be seen wearing rubber shoes, but these kids are excited to have any kind of footwear. 

So pardon me if I don't get excited about America's annual shopping -- and spending -- frenzy. I prefer to put my Christmas spirit into worthwhile causes. I have a small family, and my siblings and I long ago gave up exchanging gifts. We all have everything we need, and if there is something we want, we buy it for ourselves. I may send them a box of cookies or candy, but nothing extravagant.

Instead, I am sponsoring a Kenyan girl from a rural area so she can finish high school. The first student I sponsored has finished her high school education. I will donate to the hospice that cared for my father at the end of his life, and to a couple of animal rescue groups. I also will donate food and money to the local food bank as I do every year. My check to Meals on Wheels is already on its way to help provide food to elderly shut-ins.

The older I get, the less I need things. And really, I don't want people to give me things. I value the feeling that comes from knowing I have helped those in need, especially given the overwhelming suffering and sadness in our world. So many in the US are struggling after the ravages of a pandemic that continues to rage across much of the country. Conditions in less developed countries are even worse, even without the added problems caused by the pandemic.

I value experiences gained from travel, and the friendships I have made during those travels. On Thanksgiving Day, I was thrilled to get an e-mail from a friend I met several years ago during a trip to Kenya. We have traveled together, along with a friend from Scotland, a few more times as well. That e-mail, updating me about what she has been doing and checking in with me, was more valuable than anything money can buy. I also got messages from two women I met during a trip to Tanzania earlier this year, wishing me a happy Thanksgiving. One of them mentioned how blessed she feels to have met me. THAT is 'the perfect gift' for me!

I don't need more clothes or more knicknacks to collect dust. Experiences, memories and digital images from my travels don't clutter the house or require dusting. 

Feeling more connected in some small way to people on the other side of the planet, being able to help people with whom I have little in common, and knowing that I can help those less fortunate in my own country, really is my 'perfect gift' during the holiday season and throughout the year.

Thanksgiving 2021

It's a few days before Thanksgiving, and a good time to pause and consider all for which I am thankful.

I

This year, like most, has been a mixed bag of good and bad. I got to resume travel after a year of staying home due to the pandemic. After being fully vaccinated, I traveled to Tanzania on a fabulous photo safari. I met two great women with whom I plan to return to Tanzania in a year or so. I am grateful for the warm and welcoming Tanzanian people who took such good care of us.

I wrapped up four surgeries to remove kidney stones in February, and I am so grateful for the new urologist who treated me and who continues to monitor my kidney health.

I am grateful for my friend who continues to provide transportation home after surgery and after trips to the retina specialist who monitors my vision. We were able to resume our traditional monthly lunches out, once the weather was good enough that we could eat outdoors. 

I am thankful for my retina specialist, who is a wonderful, skilled and kind man, and I am so grateful to have him in my corner.  And I am so thankful that my eyes are still good enough to allow me to follow my passion of wildlife and landscape photography.

I am grateful for my good health and for being able to walk 4 miles every day. When so many my age face serious and debilitating health problems, I am still active and healthy. I don't need a walker or a cane, and I don't need supplemental oxygen as do so many.

I am thankful that my daughter appears to be doing well in her job and as a new mother. I am grateful that her baby son is healthy and happy.

I am thankful for the many opportunities to travel this year -- to Yellowstone and Glacier national parks on photography tours, to Yosemite National Park on a photo tour, and to Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks for photography. I also visited my sister and brother in Oregon, for the first time in too many years. 

As the weather turns cold, I am grateful for my wonderful, warm house with its beautiful views of the mountains. I am grateful for my two dogs that keep me on my toes every day and love me beyond words. I am grateful to have adopted a puppy and for the opportunity to train her to become a wonderful, obedient companion as she grows up. 

Unlike so many, I have more than enough to eat, I have warm clothes, a reliable car and good health insurance. I have money to cover any emergencies that pop up.

I am grateful to live in a free country where people are allowed to vote without fear of repercussions, although the recent spate of laws designed to suppress the vote of millions of people concerns me greatly. I value our ability to peacefully protest. I am grateful for the members of our military who keep us safe and free, and for the first responders who daily risk their lives in service to others. I am particularly grateful for the nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians and other medical staff who daily risk their lives to care for Covid patients, most of whom are ill because they refused the sensible and safe step of being vaccinated against this terrible virus.

I will prepare a sort of Thanksgiving meal this year for the first time in a few years. I have bought a smoked turkey, and although I will dine alone, I will enjoy a somewhat traditional Thanksgiving meal. I won't make mashed potatoes or have dessert or cranberries, but the essence of the meal will be there.  

I will spend a quiet day at home, knowing I have plenty to eat and thinking about the many blessings in my life. Because in the end, regardless of our troubles, we in this country still do have much for which to be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

We Have Enough

Gratitude turns what we have into enough.

I recently ran across this sentiment online somewhere. And I like it. The sentiment seems appropriate during this season of thanksgiving, when we are called to consider our blessings (if we can take a few moments from the ever-intensifying calls to spend, spend, spend on Christmas things) and to appreciate and share our blessings with those less fortunate among us.

I believe it is important not only to acknowledge all we have, both physically and emotionally, but to understand that what we have truly is enough. There certainly are those who do not have enough -- enough food, enough clothing, enough medical care, enough shelter, enough moral support and enough money to support them -- but most of us do have more than enough.

So please take a few moments and consider those among us who do not have enough. Too many of our elderly face a season of hunger and loneliness. Too many of our veterans struggle with PTSD and other mental health challenges. Too many of our citizens are homeless or hungry after losing jobs due to the pandemic and its toll on businesses.

I can't save the world. But I can buy an extra can or soup or a package of pasta when they are on sale and donate food to a local food bank, or donate a warm coat to a winter coat drive. The important thing is, I can, and I will, do something. I have enough to do those simple things.

I recall a story from years ago about an elderly parent saying goodbye to an adult child and parting with the words "I wish you enough." The mother wished her daughter enough good times to sustain her through life, enough pain to make her appreciate the good things in her life, and enough loss to appreciate all she has. You can find the entire brief story of the encounter online.

So as we approach Thanksgiving, I wish you all enough.

I Want Cozy.

Yes, I want cozy. I want beauty. I want peace. 

With cold overnight temperatures comes my desire for cozy.

I want cozy clothes, such as heavy socks, warm sweaters and sweatshirts, and I want hot soup and chili. I want to settle into my comfortable reading chair with my Kindle, perhaps with some soft music in the background and a steaming cup of tea on the chairside table.

I have a beautiful southwest style home, but I don't consider it cozy. Interior decorating isn't my thing, although I long for some cozy touches. The house is very comfortable, and I love it, but cozy it isn’t.

I want beauty. I recently returned from a photography trip to Yosemite National Park, a place of stunning beauty. So I have been enjoying reviewing and processing my hundreds of digital images. I will have some of them printed to replace a few of the images currently hanging in my house. 

I also want peace. This country continues to be anything but a peaceful nation. There is so much discord. There is disagreement over vaccine mandates, over mask mandates, and over vaccination of children age 5 to 11 years old. The climate battle continues. Businesses continue to struggle, and in some cases, close due to a shortage of people willing to work. Demands for free everything -- from health care to child care to college -- continue. We all know that nothing is free. Someone has to pay for all these free things, either the everyday citizen or the ultra wealthy, who so far pay little to no income taxes. 

I continue to decrease the time I waste on social media. Why do so many people feel they need to post negative comments about everything? I frequently see an ad for a vegetarian 'turkey' for Thanksgiving. There is a long list of derogatory comments, complete with a 'vomit' emoji. If these people don't want to eat a vegetarian alternative to turkey, fine. Just move on. Hide the ad if it offends them. They criticize the product for its artificial ingredients when there are, in fact, no artificial ingredients, something they would know if they bothered to read the ingredient list. Do these people not have better ways to spend their time than trolling social media posts? What joy do these people take from spreading their negativity and hate?

For me, I will enjoy my beautiful home, cozy or not. I will try to find joy, and to spread joy, by being kind to others and by sharing what I have with those who have nothing. That will create a sense of coziness in my heart. And I will find beauty in my images of Mother Nature's creations.

Begin with Yes

I saw something on line recently that started with ‘Begin with Yes.’

That would, I thought, be a perfect mantra by which to live my life. Begin with yes.  A website by this name talks about taking small steps every day in order to make changes in ourselves and in our lives. 

Each change we wish to make begins with a first, often small, step. First, before we take that first step, we have to begin by saying 'yes' to whatever we are seeking. Over time, small step by small step, we can begin to see the change for which we wish.

So why not begin with saying yes to life?

Say yes to new opportunities. Say yes to helping those less fortunate. Say yes to new experiences. Say yes to learning new things and new skills. Say yes to taking better care of oneself. Say yes to taking that nap! Say yes to learning a new language. Say yes to pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone. Say yes to education. Say yes to trying new foods. Say yes to being honest with ourselves. Say yes to being humble. Say yes to being kind. Say yes to being patient. Say yes to starting to lose that unwanted extra weight.

I like this philosophy of life. The message itself is a positive one. Of course, saying yes to the wrong things can have serious consequences. Viewers of the 'Grace and Frankie' series on Netflix may remember what happened to the two friends when they had a 'say yes' night. So the point is to say yes only to positive things that will improve us and our lives.

To what will you say yes today?