いつものこととは言えど、三田の辺り、相当混むんですけど、イライラ。
渋滞一時間…ビックリ過ぎるくらい疲れがたまりました。

夏休み終わっちゃった。ゆっくりした夏休みの過ごし方でした。
まぁ、8月も忙しくなりそうだし、こんな夏休みもあっていいかな。
明日からまた仕事復帰して頑張ろう。

悔しい事があって、北海道旅行中止と同じくらいの悔しさを今日味わいました。
なかなか思い通りにいかないもんですね。思い通りにいかないからおもしろいんだけどさ。寝よ！！

　７月３０日の誕生花

【花言葉】誕生花アクリル画イラスト

For those of you who didn’t know, we have been on the mainland since July 7 and won’t return to Hawaii until Sept 8.

We just returned to the Bay Area from a 4000 mile road trip to the national parks of Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Colorado, Arches, Bryce and Zion.  Everything has been wonderful as we traveled w/ Nancy’s cousin Florence in her Honda Hybrid Accord  (35mpg).  Nancy’s highlights were the animals where Franklin almost had a heart attack as when we spotted a big Brown Bear, Nancy jumped out of the car and went running up close to get pictures and even as many times as I’ve seen bears in Alaska when fishing along the trails while fishing, I’ve learned that these are not teddy bears that you can pet, they can bite! She was at least 30 feet away, when you are supposed to give them 50 yards distance. I’ve aged 50 years since our trip! In Yellowstone we also got closeup views of bison strolling down the side of the road, a raven, bear, deer, bald eagles, wolves, antelope and elk.  Franklin’s top choice was the presidential sculptures at Mt. Rushmore and the evening patriotic program.  We were all amazed by God’s handiworks in the beauty of nature.

We had just two trials, but as usual God worked it out for good.

We didn’t book our lodging ahead of time because we didn’t know how far we would travel in a day.  When we arrived at Buffalo, Wyoming, we found out there was no room at the inn - in the entire town plus the next two. After searching for an hour, and dinner, we decided to drive directly to our next destination, Rapid City, 200 miles away departing at 9:30 pm!  I had perfect peace as Franklin drove on the divided, deserted 4 lane highway, praising God, and God blessed us w/ a lightning show in the distance the entire way and we arrived at our destination in 3 hours! Thanks also to Florence’s son for his GPS - absolutely a must for traveling

The other trial occurred at the rim of the Colorado National Monument when the 2005 Honda started dying on us at the elevation of 8000 feet. We were able to get to the visitor center where we called AAA.  It wasSat night but fortunately there was a Honda dealer in nearby Grand Junction so we left the car there until the dealer opened Monday morning. Sunday morning we decided to walk over a mile to the nearest church, a Four-Square.  The entire way I was praying that some nice couple would offer us a ride back to the motel (90 degree heat) .  After the service, the couple in front of us asked, “Would you like to go out to lunch?” Praise the Lord!  God answered more than we expected!  Our newfound friends treated us to a very nice lunch, took us to the Honda dealer and led us to a good gas station (we suspected that the cheap gas we got in Denver was the problem) and then back to the motel.  Our trial turned out into a very nice day of rest.

Monday morning they found nothing wrong w/ the car so we went merrily on our way to Arches National Park.  God determined our route as we had been praying whether or not we should go to Mesa Verde, Col., and now it was a definite “no” because of the lost day, but Zion and Bryce Canyon were beautiful side trips.

We spent a weekend in San Diego enjoying fellowship w/ Franklin’s sister Shirley and husband Joe, then lunch July 28 with Nancy’s 90-year old Aunt Fanny in LA, dinner w/ Franklin’s friends Ken and Jane in Santa Maria and back by midnight the same day to the Bay Area .    Next week we fly to D.C. to see Nancy’s daughter Rona and family.  We’ll send you a report from our East Coast journey.  Please write us to let us know how you are doing.

Love,
Nancy and Franklin

Paris July 2008 (2)

　７月２９日の誕生花

【花言葉】誕生花アクリル画イラスト

母は休みというのに玄関の花壇の掃除、
父は臨時会議、みんな働き者だな。
その傍で私はグータラとろみどり。

北海道に行けなかった腹癒せに、家から１時間半の温泉に行ってきました。もちろんグータラとろみどりがドライバーで始動です。ウイーーンガシャン　「「「　[』￣□￣]』　プチ旅行気分を味わうために道の駅に立ち寄っておまんじゅうをみんなで食べました。温泉は露天風呂もいろんな種類があっていいところでした。りらーーーーっくすたいむ。

その後は、「たまの贅沢を家族でしたい。」という気持ちで美味しいお寿司を食べに行きました。贅沢と言っても、カウンターじゃなくやっぱし回転ですが。私といい、弟といい、親といい、お寿司さえ与えておけば満足するとろ一家です。いやぁ、ネタが新鮮で美味しかったです。初めて行ったお店だったけど、当たりでした。家族みんな満足です。北海道のほとぼりがちょっとずつ冷めてきた？　かな？　楽しそうな親やばあちゃんの顔を見ると、家族でお出かけもいいもんですね。

大学の親友とふか〜くどっぷり語りたくなった夜でした。
いい意味で刺激されますね。

Today, I had dinner with my coworkers from the bank. Inside the bank building, there are two restaurants, a cafeteria that is open to anybody located on the sixth floor and a very luxurious restaurant on the 30th floor of my building. The cafeteria has no name in particular but the 30th floor restaurant is called the Bankers Club. I believe it is the only restaurant in the downtown area that you can have a proper business lunch. Anyways, the food is very good but you must be a bank employee. One day, I want to take everyone who has helped me out to this restaurant.

I have been working on-call and volunteering for a non-profit organization that provides services to the community from infancy to death. I have worked for them in the pre-schools and in the senior health and rehabilitation services for the activities department. I really did not know how the work with seniors would go - I agreed to go for two nights a week to play Yahtzee in the evenings. I have always been amazed that I could get paid - even a little and it is a little- to play games and talk story. The bottom line is that I love it. I have found a real affinity for the care and comfort of the elderly, from rehabilitation services to alzheimers care. I am honored and privileged to be working with the residents and care-givers of this organization. They offer not only traditional activities, but also pet therapy that includes birds, fish, dog and cat visits, as well as gardening, crafts, music and so much more. It gives me pleasure to spend my time and effort to contribute the quality of life for the seniors of this community while I am here. I cannot underestimate the impact on my own growth and learning in the process, but I do feel so much satisfaction in the time I contribute to our human treasures of life and history. I will never forget and maybe never give up in my service to humanity -wherever I may land. How have I been so lucky?

My friend sent me pictures of beautiful Kodai Hasu (Lotus flowers) when she visited a garden in Gyota city, Saitama. These flowers are said to live as long as a 1000 years. I’m not too sure how old these flowers are however. Mite!

　７月２８日の誕生花

【花言葉】誕生花アクリル画イラスト