Tag Archives: Cody

I’ve Been Busy!

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It’s a good thing!

And now I get to take a few days and head to California for Cody’s graduation on Saturday! I am SO proud of him. It’s been a long, hard 10 week slog, up and at the academy by 5 am each day, not home until 7. But he just has three days left and then I think he will sleep for a month!

I’m flying down tomorrow and will spend the evening with Ryan, maybe go out to Topanga Canyon during the day to see if it still feels as good as it did last time, and possibly meet up with a friend of a friend who lives there.

Friday I will head up early to Apple Valley, stop at Trader Joe’s on the way for stuff for the Grad party on Saturday.

It makes such a difference to me to be able to go back and forth to see the young ones. It was so isolating when I was unable to do that. And I have my tickets bought for Christmas next month.

Winter is here; it was below freezing this morning, but just knowing that I don’t have to be here a hundred percent of the time makes a huge difference. I certainly don’t like the cold and damp and gray, but I think I can survive this winter by getting away every month. And then when my loan modification is fixed in place, I can consider moving permanently with the house here rented out. I can tell people, “I have a beach cottage in Washington!”

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My handsome boys - Everett, Cody, Ryan and Oliver

What a great trip I had. 

From northwest to East Coast to SoCal, my experiences ran the gamut.

My last post was from back east and then when I got to SoCal, I was just too busy with family to post anything. So this is just a brief catch up til now.

The main thing that came out of this trip, besides a lot of fun, was how much I miss being around Ryan and Cody and the little ones. And out of that came two more trips down there; one in November for Cody’s Firefighter graduation and the other over Christmas. Tickets already booked. After that, I will know more about my house loan situation and can make a more educated decision about where I am going.

It’s already really cold here – yesterday didn’t get over 50F and last night was near freezing, and I heard that La Nina is expected this winter so we can expect the same as last year. Not good.

Everett has my gap

But the nuts and bolts of the trip. I flew into Burbank as it is so much easier for Ryan to pick me up there. Spent a few days then headed up to Apple Valley to see Cody, Mel and the little boys. Oliver and Everett are soooo cute, yes, more than grandma cute! So it was great to spend the days playing with them, but also trying to work. They are such time wasters! We took them to a pumpkin patch which was a lot of fun. Went to the local farmer’s market at the college where Cody is training and actually saw him in full firefighter gear, much to Oliver’s delight! Back down to Encino, and a trip with Betsy to Carpinteria to meet my Ecology people. That in itself made the whole trip worthwhile (almost) as now I can put faces to names.

Love that Tonka truck

The day before I headed back north, Ryan and I spent a wonderful day together. I love Les, but it was so good to have Ryan all to myself. We went shopping – seeing as I had got rid of all my winter clothes ready for tropical living – then to brunch out in Topanga Canyon at the Inn of the Seventh Ray. I fell in love with the canyon and it is quite possible that it is the place I go in the near future. When I go back down next month, I am going to explore it a little more. After that, we went wine tasting at Malibu Wines and then home to pack.

All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. I feel rested, happy to be working and ready to take on the world.

Gorgeous weather

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Finally…

Yesterday was beautiful and today is equally so. The crystal clear blue skies we get in the early summer, morning light golden on the new leaves across the water. A super high tide, water glassy with reflections. No complaints here … except the water should be 30+ degrees warmer! Not too much longer to wait for that.

Veges are finally growing; it has taken weeks and weeks for them to start, the weather has been so awful and cold. The tulips are over, but some of the irises are out with more budding. The rhodies are just starting to flower – just in time for Rhody Week in Port Townsend. Hopefully the weather will hold for the parades and festivities.

Unfortunately, I have to be inside a lot of today as we are putting together 5000 little bags of nuts for a promotion. So we have to stick on the labels and then fill the little suckers. I have help, there is no way I could do it all myself! But I get paid, that’s a new concept!

Editing is going well, although I won’t be doing much this week, with all the nutty business, but it looks like it will serve me well when I am out of the country. I’m getting really excited about the move. Bill, a fellow I am corresponding with on Bocas, told me there are quite a few South Africans who have moved there and he will introduce me. So it won’t be too traumatic to move there on my own. Still not sure if Susan will go at the same time. But I am pretty set on doing the language immersion for a few weeks. I think it is very important.

I am so proud of my sons. Ryan starts on Hell’s Kitchen as Supervising Producer. Moving from American Idol and up the ladder. Next title I think is C0-Executive Producer. He has really worked hard, and continues to work hard at his career. And all that hard work is paying off.

And Cody! On his different path. An EMS and soon-t0-be firefighter! But that suits him. I never suspected a leaning towards this, but he is such a caring person, and so physical, this is perfect for him. Not to mention the financial rewards are much higher than carpentry production. Once he is a firefighter, he will have time to pursue his hobbies, his art and furniture making.

I am blessed. And when I go to Panama, I will miss them, but suspect I might see them more than I do now, when they come down on vacation.

Family, Sun, Warm

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OK, I have been a slacker about this blog. Lot’s of excuses but none of them hold water.


So I am here in sunny Southern California, soaking up the warmth and the sun. I sat out in the sun for about 10 minutes and could tell I was getting burned – I am SO pasty – ick! Tomorrow I head down to Oceanside to see Cody, Mel and Oliver and will spend the night with the Straitiffs, then head back up here on Thursday for a birthday dinner that Les is cooking for me! What  a treat. I am amazed at how far he has come with his cooking. It was just about a year and a half ago that he could barely boil water and now he is in culinary school, whipping up gourmet meals like it’s old hat! Tonight he is doing halibut and other wonderful stuff and for my birthday dinner, lamb chops. How spoiled I am – and loving it.


It felt really good to get away from Washington and the cold – and the negativity that has invaded my house. I do have empathy for him, but his thinking is so skewed and I watch him spiral himself in with the negative talk and it is just too much to deal with sometimes. And frustrating! Because I will not fall back into the helping mode and do everything and yet he won’t pick up what needs to be done. It’s as if the world owes him. So it’s good to be away and get some perspective.


Being down here also reminds me of how much I need the sun – and people. I know I will have to work for the rest of my life so I might as well find something that I really enjoy doing, in a place that I like, around people that I want to be around. So the old idea of the B&B in Costa Rica resurfaced and I think of how much fun that could be, near or on the beach, people around, and I can get back into doing the type of writing and photography I love to do, which has been shoved on the back burner. I also realize that I can do the nut biz from just about anywhere – as long as there is someone who can physically pack and ship the orders. Wouldn’t that be cool? A warehouse in California or somewhere, and me in the tropics, taking care of the “stuff” while somebody else does the grunt work! 


The site is coming along with the revisions but as usual it is always slower than anticipated. Especially when the designer is off sick and then the Project Manager is sick. And of course there are the constant glitches – I had no idea what really went on with web sites in the background. So often, on a site, there’ll be something that doesn’t work quite right, and I gloss over it, but when it is your own site! Oh dear, what a difference that makes. 


We are gearing up for a media blitz as soon as the site is revamped and that will be a lot of fun. The PR guys are getting stuff organized and have been a big help so far. I get to meet them on Friday. Now that is going to be a treat as I am meeting them at a Farmers Market in Hermosa Beach and apparently they have the best tacos! Real Mexican tacos, not the wimpy Washington ones. And the Farmers Market is year round, what a treat – not just the months it’s ok (sort of) to be outside. I’ll post pix.


And then I am getting my hair cut by Tate, a friend of Ryan’s who has wanted to cut it for ages! The last cut I had in Port Townsend was terrible and I have let it grow out so he will have a lot to work with.


So it’s all good! I just keep a vision of the B&B in the tropics and know that I have a direction to go.