blogger MIA

Yes, I've been a blogger mostly missing in action these past 6 months, a season during which we traveled to Eastern and Western Europe, I quit my job of 12 years, started a new job requiring new skills, with no vacation or sick leave for 3 months; during those first 3 months, I traveled to my sister's wedding in Vermont, followed by a training in Seattle, and then 2 weeks later on a work trip to Pohnpei in Micronesia. Last spring, we began construction of a new house on our land in Waimea, and amazingly it is now nearing completion. The daughter came home for the summer and returned to school + boyfriend in California. The son returned from teaching in Hungary and travels in Europe for only a few weeks before moving with his dog to the Big Island where he and a friend are assisting with final construction work on the Waimea house, working at a Kona restaurant, and camping out in the house. Our mothers needed assistance and attention. Family friends and relatives passed away. The economy took a nosedive and the times they are not only a changin' but without precedence. We so desperately need a new and better President (whose name begins with O and who is not a Muslim-- but so what if he were?). During this wonderful and terrible time of many changes, life got out of balance. Mark and I were sadly thousands of miles apart on our 27th wedding anniversary. Reflection and writing got short shrift as we went into energy conservation and powersave mode. Back in towards balance, back to blogging. Yeah!