I will start this now, and finish tomorrow, as my house will have no heat until tomorrow morning- meaning my first goal of the New Year is to restore what the old year took away, at the last minute.

Basically, my real goals are these:

1. Get the house ready for sale, starting in mid- March and continuing until it’s sold.

2.  Move my stuff, my son’s stuff and myself to a location closer to downtown Prescott.

3.  Continue my substituting work, my volunteer work and my Baha’i activities.

4.  Continue being available for my friends, as they need me.

5.  Hiking- Seven Falls and Kartchner Caverns (left over from 2013) within the next few days, after the heater gets fixed;    Black Canyon National Recreation Trail, in segments over the next three months; South Kaibab Trail, sometime in April; Big Bend, sometime in early May; Rocky Mountain National Park- either in June or September- because-

6.  I will go over to France and the Benelux region, either in June or September, depending on how soon this house sells.

7.  Two trips to Southern California are on the agenda:  March 20, and thereabouts, as Son embarks on a long voyage; and later in the year, most likely in July, from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara.

Everything else will unfold as it always does, on the spur of the moment.  A friend or two has indicated visits to AZ are possible, so I may play host again.

This was definitely the year in which I cast out some serious remaining demons.   I am nothing but grateful, for the following people, places and events:

White Tanks Regional Park & Ford Canyon;

Lake Havasu City & its Balloon Festival;

Roy Purcell and his Cerbat Murals;

The Dolan Springs Joshua Tree Forest;

Oatman, AZ- and everything in it;

Matt Deuitch and his team, for helping close on the Phoenix house;

Kamran Ruintan and dental team, for helping my physical healing;

Lake Pleasant;

Deer Valley Rock Art Center;

Dave & Deb, for Hoover Dam, Red Rock National Recreation Area, the Wyndham “Green Hotel” and just for being family;

Aram, my son, for going about your vital work, being a good host and taking life by the horns;

Janet Waters, Crystal Cove, and steadfast support;

Mission San Luis Rey;

Palm Springs Tram;

“Team Dutchman”- my Superstition Mountains hiking buddies, for a successful trek around Weaver’s Needle;

Leticia Fierro and the Centennial HS troupe- ” A Midsummer Night’s Dream” never felt more alive;

The Payson Women’s Film Festival committee- for standing tall;

Ernest A.Love Post 6, American Legion, for having my back and for choosing me as your Chaplain;

Annick Elziere- for Sabino Canyon and for never losing hope;

Tubac, Tumacacori and Mission San Xavier del W’ak;

Bill Williams Mountain;

Molly Beverly and the Prescott Slow-Food team- This was a spectacular Regional Conference;

Yavapai Red Cross DAT-and all those who came to help us.  Prescott stood tall, in two horrible sets of trials;

USS Wayne E. Meyer crew, for hosting us families on a very enjoyable run;

Phyllis Killian and family, always nice to return to Dinnebito;

Mindy, Wynne and the guys- Birthdays in the Front Range are second to none;

Uncle George, Christina Knapp, Mitchell Silas, Christina Nicole and all my Colorado friends- for being there and for always setting me straight;

El Dorado Springs, Manitou Springs, US Air Force Academy, Seven Falls, Wetherill Mesa;

Derek and Sima Cockshut and Star Valley Chocolates- for reviving my flagging spirits;

Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Snake River Gorge,Cody, Greybull, Medicine Wheel, Devils Tower, Hulett and Aladdin, WY;

Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, Harney Peak, Deadwood, Custer and Mitchell, SD;

Pipestone, MN;

Jim, Summer Rae, Boston James and the bright lights of the Iowa State Capitol;

Bettendorf’s  riverfront;

Tampico  and Dixon, IL;

The ever-inspiring Baha’i House of Worship, in Wilmette;

Cahokia Mounds;

Nataly Loveless and Bloomington, IL;

John E. Glaze and Enid, OK;

Wes Hardin and the Blue Front Cafe;

Fort Smith, Van Buren and Little Rock, AR;

Beth and Dave Glick, and their lovely family;

Jeff Markowitz and Princeton, NJ;

Glenn and Barbie, for your intrepid nature and for everything good that happened to both Aram and me, during our respective visits;

Gloucester and Rockport, MA;

Jim Condon and Tom Belmonte, forever my friends;

Block Island;

Tom D. Stevens and wife, for being such gracious hosts;

New York City, for standing tall;

High Point, NJ, for honouring us veterans;

Gettysburg, for telling the story straight;

Christina Fullmer, Maliya and all Annapolis;

Rudy’s Barbecue, Springfield, OH;

Dodge City, KS;

Joshua Seyfarth, for your engaging wit and culinary skills;

Brea, CA and Carbon Canyon;

Prescott National Forest, and Sedona;

My dear parents-in-law, for all you have done and will ever do;

My Baha’i community of Prescott- my rock and armour;

Marcia Brehmer, my spiritual mentor, for all your guidance this year;

Melissa Monahan, for being a friend;

My Facebook friends, never judgmental- to me anyway;

Mom, for putting me here and for being the light of so many lives;

It has been a good year of personal growth, and yet-

I will never forget Drew Crotty, Dennis Young, Beverly Mc Millin, John Woodbury, Jamie Cooper, Bob McDonald, Lorraine Stewart, Thomas A. Smith, Janet Mortensen.

2013 is hours away from being history.  May all of us fare better in the year ahead.

Yes, I am still posting these reminiscences that no one has read, or is likely to read.  My blog site is for me, and if anyone else feels like reading it, I’m glad.  If not, have a nice day, Universe.

Anyway, in 2012, these people, places and things were keys to my healing:

John E. Glaze, Enid and Gloss Mountain;

Janet Waters, San Clemente, Laguna Beach, “the Greeter”;

Casa Romantica;

Christina Knapp, Boulder, Marshall Wilderness and Chautauqua Park;

My blessed son, Aram,  and San Diego- the USS Midway, La Jolla, Maritime Historical Museum;

Palo Duro Canyon- and the Sipapu;

Mesa Verde National Park;

Lamar, CO and Chez Duvall’s;

The 50th Anniversary of  The Pine Springs Proclamation (at Native American Baha’i Institute);

Thomas A. and S. Michele Smith, Reno and the Centenary of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s visit to North America (San Francisco);

Oakland’s Centenary Walk;

The Winters family and Fort Worth’s Log Cabin Village, plus the Stockyards District;

Muir Woods;

Point Reyes and Tomales Bay;

The Coastal Redwoods;

Cape Mendocino;

The Oregon Coast, from Brookings to Florence;

Khai Devon and Portland, OR;

St. Helens and Astoria;

Hoquiam, WA;

Sassa Gal (Sarah) and the South Puget;

The Olympic Peninsula;

Ted Lew and Seattle;

Wenatchee, even in the midst of its travails;

Columbia Gorge;

Bend, Culver, Newberry Volcano and Crater Lake;

Rogue River Gorge;

Jody Bourne Weah and Ashland;

Lassen Volcanic National Park;

Elko and the Ruby Mountains;

Carol Curtis and Salt Lake City’s Centenary observance;

The Glenwood Springs Centenary observance;

Mindy and David Kosak, and George A. Boivin, III- my reliable Colorado family;

The Mortensons and San Antonio;

Austin, TX

The Pedernales Region;

South Padre Island;

Laredo;

Annick Elziere, Tucson and Sabino Canyon;

My Massachusetts family, Salem, Boston and The Freedom Trail;

The Grand Canyon, Bright Angel Trail and Sand Beach;

Most of all, Prescott, my in-laws and this house, and my community.

I came along way back, in 2012, though not quite far enough.

Odyssey Hospice- Wonderful caregivers, rapacious head office staff, blessed grief counselor(Bob).

Letting the love of my life go to the Spirit Realm.

Four months of hiding within myself.

Dismantling our Phoenix household.

Sending Aram off to the Navy.

Refuges- Watering Hole Ranch, my niece’s wedding, Blue Front Cafe, Big Vern’s Steak House, Nick’s Barbecue, the Grant Residence(Catlettsburg, KY),  Scioto Hills State Park, Nashville, Cairo, Illinois and the Confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, Claytor Lake,  Edinburg, VA, Longmeadow Farm, 16 Winter Street, Glick’s Greenhouse, the Baha’i House of Worship (Wilmette), Chicago Botanic Garden, Great Lakes Naval Training Center, New Salem State Park, the Ali residence(Quincy, IL), Cape Girardeau, Enid, OK, Crystal Cove State Beach, San Diego, Prescott.

Challenges-  Selma, AL, Atlanta,  Blacksburg, Washington, DC, Hannibal, MO, the Texas Welcome Center @ Alanreed.

Chapter 7

Trillium Specialty Hospital

My year of substituting dangerously

Painting the house, inside and out

Penny’s last birthday, without candles on the cake

My 60th birthday, sharing pizza with the guys

December 5-6, with my family, at Yard House, at Durant’s and at the Phoenix Light Parade

Xanga

The longest year of my life, signifying dedication, and not much else.

2000-09

Y2K                                                                                                                                                                                          September 11, 2001

Second Prescott residence                                                   Dobson Ranch

Mother’s 75th

Penny in decline

Mingus Mountain Academy

Sierra Pines Apartments                                                          Ironwood Elementary School

Solar Drive

El Mirage School                                                                            Palo Verde Middle School

Willow Canyon High School                                                                                                                                                  Penny’s third Master’s Degree

Pre-School Substitute

Aram’s HS Graduation & 18th Birthday

Ten years of feeling strange