Arizona Heat to Amish Warmth

Since my last blog entry, I have traversed many miles and am finally back home to beautiful Ohio where spring is still in the air and dogwoods are in bloom! Arizona should be renamed AridZone-Ugh! While it is a very interesting and sunny state to visit, I don’t think the saguaro cactus state

is one we would move to. Too much heat! At least the southern part of it! But Ohio…it is home! 

John had his annual (SMA) stair builders meeting in Tucson, Arizona last week, where we got to be reunited with so many friends and I participated in several of the extracurricular activities, which educated me on the flora and fauna of the area. I have held a desert tortoise hatchling,

 

ridden a horse named Callie on desert trails that are often crossed with rattlesnakes and horny toad lizards,

learned how to cook from scratch… several Southwestern dishes, including churros and taquitos. Several of us took a jeep tour through White Stallion Ranch and we tasted fishhook barrel cactus fruit,

and ate mesquite flour chocolate chip cookies! However, the best part of the conference was the people! I rekindled past friendships, made new friendships and sadly, missed those friends who were not in attendance (especially Chaz & Robin). 

One highlight was being asked to share my Gratitude Bell story at the conference and auction one off as a fund raiser for their organization, which I’m so very proud to say brought in $1,500 for the SMA! I am always profoundly grateful for any opportunity to share what God has done in my life! And the special woman who won it is also a fighter and my prayer is that Nancy C. will always ring it with a heart of gratitude for God and His great love for her! Listen and know that this Gratitude song is especially for you!

After the conference ended, John and I had the privilege of visiting with friends. One of John’s childhood buddies, Ted M, took us out to eat at the most famous vegan restaurant!!

Then John and I had a truly magnificent and memorable wild/dispersed camping experience, actually our very first van camping meet up with friends up in the beautiful Mount Lemmon area outside of Tucson. The moon was so bright we could see brilliant shadows all night! To do this with dear friends like the Vogels who love the Lord and share much in common made it a really precious time! And, yes!!! that is snow! There’s often a 30–40° difference from the top of the mountain down to the cactus-filled desert floor in Tucson!

Finally, our time together in Arizona came to an end and John dropped me off at Phoenix airport so I could return home and he could continue enjoying several hiking and mountain biking rides in Moab, UT and then drive home in a couple weeks. 

Meanwhile, I got my infusion treatments at The James to continue help keep my body in the beautiful state of health that someone diagnosed with stage four breast cancer could ever wish for! What I didn’t realize was how difficult getting my body clock turned around from Pacific time zone to Eastern time zone would be. I haven’t stayed up until 2 AM so many nights in a row in my life wishing I could just fall asleep! Thankfully, I got a little rest during my infusion… 

I’m really proud of how well John and I loved on each other, enjoyed each other‘s company, and recovered quickly from one little bump in the road conflict during the 2.5 weeks of being together almost constantly! If this was a test of life in the real WonderVan that is about to launch in a few months, with God’s help, we will be just fine and we are both bursting with excitement to see it come to fruition! 

It’s also important to be with other friends, have solitude alone with God, and to visit with family! So this past week I had 2 much needed dates with my son, caught up with family on FaceTime and phone calls and had my regular lunch date with this lady whom I love deeply! 

I had the child-like joy of morel mushroom hunting and, yes, I found a way to prepare them with my new way of eating…stuffed with scallion herb cashew cheese and air frying them! Very umami and delicious!

Two last blessings I’d like to share before saying adieu are ones where I’ve been touched by God’s generosity beyond measure! 

A very special person in my life introduced me to a niche bakery in Columbus, OH called Dan The Baker! Dan gave me a personal tour of his bakery behind the scenes and then GIFTED me not only with BEAUTIFUL loaves of bread and sweet croissants, but with some of his very own sourdough starter for an Amish friend of mine who just told me days before that she wanted to start making sourdough, but didn’t have a starter!! God is always a million steps ahead of me! 

Then I drove to the bucolic Amish Holmes County in Ohio and truly rested for 2 days enjoying perfect weather, perfect hilly scenery, perfect baked goods (the best sourdough bread and croissant I’ve ever tasted from Dan the Baker!), and perfect friendship that was exactly what this travel weary lady needed! Thank you RoyAmy!