Toto...I Think You're Back in Kansas !

Photo above...Kansas prairie land, big sky country. Field of freshly mowed hay are scattered about in picturesque rolled bales.

The past couple of days have been busy with just trying to catch up: catch up on emails, snail mail, appointments, business, laundry and so on. It seems to be the rule that if you're away for a certain amount of time you will return to at least twice as many "things-to-do" when you return.

You may have noticed that I've not featured any photos of our trip through the state of Colorado. I have nothing against this lovely state, however our drive through it was met with dark and ominous skies and a great deal of rain, making photographs impossible to take. I feared we would have the same bad weather into Kansas but fortunately the gray clouds dispersed and we had a lovely day for Vada's funeral. Such a wonderful feeling to place her remains next to her beloved first husband, John's father.

The prairies of Kansas offered me an opportunity to witness big sky country, where as far as you can look in any direction you will see the horizon of the earth and above it a vast expanse of sky.

Photo below...High prairie lands offer wind blown vistas and a perfect spot for a Wind Farm.

My hubby, John, is a Kansas boy, born in Wichita. As we drove past miles of cornfields, acres of Sunflowers and fields of hay, I couldn't resist the temptation to say; "Oh Toto, I think you're back in Kansas !"

Photo below...Rolls of hay dot the freshly mowed fields, pretty enough for a painting.

Photo below...We've traveled a long way just to get here. The little cemetery in Ferdonia, Kansas, quaint,quiet and charming.

Photo below...Here, close to this attractive shade tree, our dear Vada's ashes will rest.

Photos below...Vada's urn of ashes will be place in the middle of her burial plot, below the granite headstone. Her beloved first husband, John E. Yoakum, is immediately next to her.

John has now fulfilled his promise that he would place his dear mother alongside his father. It has taken us 3 years to accomplish this, to remove Vada from her niche in the Deschutes Cemetery in Bend, Oregon and carry her across several states back to her homeland. By the Way...is anyone interested in a lovely niche for single or double cremation urns in the Chapel of the Deschutes Mausoleum ?

Photo below...Our task complete. Our prayers offered, respect and love given. Flowers now adorn their graves and we bid them fond adieu.

I haven't quite finished with my travel photos just yet, still have a few left to post and write about, but perhaps later this week. Until then, I thank each and every one of you for stopping by, I truly appreciate your visits and your comments. Blessings to you all.

A Journey Awaits...conclusion

 

photo above...My one and only orchid plant has decided to bloom. I'm grateful that it chose to do so before we left on our excursion, the last time it showed us it's blossom we were heading out the door on our way to the airport. By the time we returned from our trip the blooms were long spent. This time it is allowing us the opportunity to enjoy its beauty.

Continuing from my post of yesterday... Once in Bend, Oregon, we will take possession of the urn of ashes and then, with Vada in tow, we will head north toward Washington state. No, this will not be Vada's final resting place, but this is my moment of dread ! My hubby, John, attended Issaquah high school and his class is having their 50th Class Reunion. Reunions can be taxing at the best of times, but this will a crowd of people I've never met and am not familiar with. Like all reunions this will undoubtedly be the standard issue where everyone sizes the others up.

"Hmmm, doesn't Frank look like he's put on a lot of weight since the last reunion?"

"Hey, wasn't Donna's hair more of a light brown...now she's blond, what's up with that?"

"Well at the last reunion Donna was a red head. Guess she's trying to recapture her youth"

"Oh my God ! Bob looks older than my Dad ! And did you see Regina? Man now that's a face-lift if ever I saw one."

We easily spot those extra chins, the paunch bellies, the gray, or worse, balding heads, all the while marveling at how well we've miraculously evaded the touch of old Father Time. There will also be all the old buddies that John hung out with back in his high school days. Guys that were on his bowling team, or his track team; the kids that he took auto shop with, or English lit., or geometry. Old friends, good friends, these buddies from his past, a past that I was not a part of and knew little about.

Shall I also mention that one of those old high school friends will be his high school sweetheart ? She, a flame from his past. She, who time has been so gentle and forgiving with. She, who has the striking good looks of a blond, comely Scandinavian; slender, well endowed, a woman that frequently receives second glances of admiration. Might I mention; she who has recently written and published a book, has been traipsing around the country speaking at book shops, literary clubs, women's groups and interviewed on local television stations and in the press? Against such charm I have as much curb appeal as a wet dishrag! Oh yes (I say sarcastically) I am so looking forward to this class reunion of John's. I will let you know how well I survived when I return.

Once the festivities of the Reunion are past, John and I will drive east through Washington state, down through Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado then eastward into Kansas. Since we will be driving at a leisurely pace this road trip should take us 4 or 5 days, depending on how many diversions we take and how many stops we make along the way.

Upon arriving in Wichita there will be the cemetery to locate. John has already made arrangements, first with the cemetery in Bend to relinquish Vada's remains and also in Wichita where Vada will be interned alongside of her first love. Fortunately there is a family burial plot next to John's father, it was almost as though fate had wanted it this way. Though John and I are both well aware that Vada's spirit is not within that pewter urn, that her soul is free and unconfined, it is nice to know her remains are close to the remains of someone she loved and who loved her. I think she would like that very much.

photo above...Perhaps the composition of my subject matter isn't quite right, but the blossom is still strikingly beautiful. Wasn't able to see the tiny screen on my camera as the sun's reflection made that an impossibility, so I was basically shooting these photos blindly.

I intend to take my camera and hopefully take many photos. I just haven't figured out how I will post the photos to my blog. We don't have one of those fancy cell phones that does just about everything but wash last night's dirty dishes.

If I figure it out I will try to keep my blog updated but if not, then I beg you to have patience with me and not abandon me before my return. My blog is a part of me and you have all become like friends and though we have never met, I feel as if I know each of you.
 

photo below...a new blossom ready to unfurl its vibrant petals.