Cottage Blessings

Back to the Future

It does not seem all that long ago I was saying goodbye to Lissa in my driveway at home in New York. She and her little ones had just spent a week with us, and they were returning to Virginia before moving to the other end of the known universe--San Diego, California.

Waving farewell, I remember the heart wrenching thought that we might not see each other again until our children's weddings!

If only someone could have shown me these photos of that darling pair of couch potatoes--together again and crazy about each other--exactly one year later!

Would anyone care to guess the name of the California town that happens to be our meeting place, not only because of its central location, but also because it was the only one that could accommodate us all on short notice? When you find out, I hope you will agree that it was meant to be.

*I did not even realize it was exactly one year, until taking a look at last year's post only a few moments ago. Amazing!

A Cross-Country Walk Down Memory Lane

Please do not miss Lissa's "Big Cross County Trip, Scrapbooked."

It is forcing me to stay up a lot later than usual tonight, but well worth it!

Back Home Again

He's an hour away from ridin' on your prayers up in the sky
and ten days on the road are barely gone.
There's a fire softly burning; supper's on the stove
but it's the light in your eyes that makes him warm.

--John Denver, Back Home Again

My most recent visits to the Bonny Glen and Lilting House tell me that this may be a Cottage Blessings Exclusive:

Lissa and her family are all together and feathering their cozy new nest in San Diego, California. Needless to say, she is exceedingly happy, as is Scott!

This last installment of the "Lissa's Trip" series is the most joyful one of all, and, I am pleased to say that they did go to the Chapel of Loretto.

Do I know my friend, or what?

The Miraculous Staircase of Loretto

Last night at dinner, my father-in-law mentioned the "Miraculous Staircase" in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a marvel of craftsmanship and inexplicable ingenuity. Over the years, the staircase has baffled architects and wood experts alike, as it was constructed with no visible means of support from a wood that has never been positively identified. The sisters of Loretto credited St. Joseph with the work, telling of how an unknown carpenter appeared on the ninth day of their Novena for a new staircase to an inaccessible choir loft. With only a few simple carpentry tools, the man completed the project in just a few months, disappearing without thanks or payment.

So, of course, with this intriguing story fresh in my mind, I came home to hear a message from Lissa saying that she and the Bonny Glenners made it to Santa Fe.

I would like to tell her about the Staircase, but, if I know them, they've probably already visited the chapel, lit a candle there for all of us, and are by now fully immersed in the mathematical mystery underlying its construction. Sitting here at my computer in New York, I can see the visit in my mind's eye--Jane is taking measurements of the risers and mentally calculating how many it should take to reach the choir loft; Rose is poring over a field guide to unusual woods of New Mexico; and Beanie is sitting on the lap of the Mother Superior, surrounded by a group of delighted sisters!

I for one will be looking forward to the next update!

I just thought of a name for Lissa's mini-van

"Aye Calypso the places you've been to, the things that you've shown us, the stories you tell Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit, the [van which has] served [them] so long and so well"

What can I say? This trip seems to have a John Denver CD as its soundtrack.

Our intrepid explorers are on the move again, using every leg of the journey as a springboard to nature, history, literature, geology, geography, and any other avenue of interest this great nation of ours may have to offer. They spotted a golden eagle wheeling circles in the Colorado sky and breezed past herds of bison and llamas, discovering more unusual wildlife by the side of the road in one morning than I would expect in a day at the zoo. Always fond of homeschoogling, the gang requested that I check the internet for information on a sign, "Site of the Ludlow Massacre." We were all appalled to learn about this terrible event, especially because it occurred in our own century.

I cannot begin to update you on the mountains they have sighted. She mentioned Pikes Peak, the Spanish Peaks, and the inspiringly named Sangre de Cristo Mountains. By the time we ended our conversation, she was a mere 15 miles from New Mexico and would be entering the Land of Enchantment for the first time since she was born there not so very long ago.

And speaking of Lissa's birth, would someone please beg her to post a comparison photo of herself as a baby and little Rilla? Mother and daughter are identical, and I do mean identical.

Is it any wonder Rilla is so cute?

Rocky Mountain "Hi!"

in Colorado.

Toto, they're not in Kansas anymore

Can't you just tell I've been waiting almost a week to use that title?

October 10th, 2 p.m.

As of this writing, our travelling friends are a mere hundred miles from Denver, Colorado. (Mary G, take note.) I had the pleasure of talking to Lissa for exactly three quarters of an hour as she toured and admired her home state. For the most part, she was ploughing through snow, the perilous kind that slickens to ice the moment it meets the ground.

Listening to Lissa as she drives is an experience not to be missed. She is like a roving journalist expertly reporting the sights and sounds from a well positioned newscopter. Snow or no snow, she spotted and identified a Burrowing Owl perched upon a fence post, spoke animatedly about the one-of-a-kind museum they'd just visited, and mulled over whether or not to get off the interstate to follow two signs cryptically marked "Point of Interest." That pervasive spirit of adventure and curiosity has made this trip kid-friendly and fascinating from the start.

Passing through Flagler, Colorado, she noted yet another town advertising free land to all comers. You see, we have many options for that new settlement we are all dreaming about. Now what shall we call it?

I know--How about Bonny Glen, Colorado?

*******
I pumped out this post hours ago, and the gang is now happily settled with Lissa's Mom and Dad. If they weren't all so eager to see Scott, my guess is that the trip would end right there!

Another bright spot along the way

Remember that beloved friend Lissa was going to meet in Kansas? (Mentioned in this post and this one.)

Well, here she is.

Now do you understand why I'm ready to relocate? : )

Breezing through Kansas

October 9th

I had an all-too-brief talk with Lissa earlier, the cruel inconstancy of cell phone connections cutting us off within about two minutes.

She was passing through Lincoln County, Kansas, an area holding fast to a fine American tradition I would have thought obsolete--giving away free land. That's right! So eager is Lincoln County for settlers that it will give a free lot to anyone willing to build a house there.

Lissa also mentioned that the dear friend and her family she met last night was, and I quote, or at least I am trying to quote, "everything we both thought they would be and more. The girls hit it off and are friends for life."

Now here's a suggestion. Instead of leaving those new friends for San Diego, why don't we all just settle down some place together? (And, when I say "all," I am of course including all the readers of this blog!)

I don't know--Lincoln County, maybe?

A Path to the Prairie

October 8th

I spoke to Lissa just as she was crossing the Kansas River this afternoon. She was in high spirits as the sights and sounds of the prairie always give her a feeling of coming home. For those of you who do not already know this, Laura Ingalls Wilder was not the only Little House author to grow up on an honest to goodness prairie. Lissa did as well and even worked as a tour guide on a 2,000 acre prairie preserve in her late teens.

Let's see.

This morning, she and the children saw a sign marking the Lewis and Clark trail. Lewis and Clark's expedition began in Charlottesville, Virginia, so the Bonny Glenners have been retracing the steps of Lewis and Clark on this first leg of the trip, something evident in the Lewis and Clark map posted here yesterday. (Click on the thumbnail for a close up view.) She also mentioned that they are somewhat near the site of the ill-fated Steamboat Arabia, a vessel that sank in the Missouri River and was discovered impressively intact and buried in a field in the late 1980s. I was fascinated to hear that the ship's cargo is so well preserved you can actually see blueberries in a jar and other everyday items of frontier life that otherwise would have decayed long ago. Unfortunately, the museum was closed to visitors on Sunday, as was the tourable Russell Stover Candy Factory poised temptingly next door to last night's hotel. Now that's just not right.

Still undaunted in her quest to make this trip fun and educational, something she does as naturally as breathing, she was delighted with the prospect of meeting an extremely dear friend and her children tonight and possibly stopping at a museum near their destination tomorrow. Pausing a moment, she managed to point out and explain a buffalo wallow to the children and note that the road they were on was the first Interstate in the United States.

Lissa's kids and I are learning a lot on this trip!

Going home

As Lissa wends her way to the new Bonny Glen on our western shore, Elizabeth and her sweet Karoline have made it home to the loving arms of eight adoring Fosses. Do not miss this.

A Path to the Pacific

Our beloved Lissa is making wonderful time in her westward passage. She was, after all, born to make at least one epic journey out west with her family in that modern day covered wagon--the minivan. Mapping her faithful telephone calls has been like a living lesson on United States Geography. Who needs Paddle to the Sea when you have Lissa?

Here is where the Bonny Glenners have been so far:

October 5th I had the honor of being on the phone with Lissa at the exact moment she found herself west of her beloved Blue Ridge Mountains.

October 6th The phone rang during rehearsal for A Midsummer Night's Dream (more on that in a future post). I sprinted in from the backyard like an Olympian (an Olympian wearing a baby in a sling) when I heard it was Lissa calling from the Blue Grass State, Kentucky.

October 7th As of about two minutes ago, the Bonny Glen was cruising through Illinois. Lissa, of course, has been finding every fun and educational stop to make along the way. She even requested that I do a bit of online research for her so they do not miss a single thing. Is it any wonder her children are so brilliant?

Right now, I am offering up a prayer of thanksgiving for cell phones, wireless headsets, the internet . . . and Lissa.

Here was the Bonny Glen

How do you have a vacation without ever leaving home? Invite the gang from the Bonny Glen for a visit, and, before you know it, you will smell the hills of heather and feel a cool mist rising off the loch.

The moment Lissa and her little ones emerged from their car, our two families embraced, and twelve children practically disappeared in a glorious world of their own for five days--a world of stories and Snoopy soundtracks, American Sign Language and original comic strips. In case any of you are wondering if Lissa and her children are really as warm and wonderful, bonny and brilliant, as they appear on her blog, the answer is a resounding, "Aye, that they are!"

My golden-headed goddaughter Beanie was on hand to give baby a kiss:

The two "best friends" finally met in person:

Put wings on Eileen and Rilla, and they would be cherubs:

What is baby Rilla beaming at you ask?

Her beloved brother, of course! His absolute devotion to her is one of the dearest things I have ever witnessed.

I caught this photo of one of many heartfelt embraces at the end of an all too brief visit. With the Bonny Glen leaving for San Diego, we all felt a bit like Laura's grandparents watching the Ingalls' covered wagon head west. Thank goodness we have phones and the internet.

So, Lissa, how soon can you come again????