First, an exuberant aside, then the Canby Cruise In Photos--1961 Volkswagen Deluxe Station Wagon with a plus at the end--please read/look to the end.

I'm feeling joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic and have to share the reasons with you.

After work today I boarded a bus and got a ride closer to a mailbox so that I could mail two things, then I boarded another bus and got off on the other side of the river and boarded a different, less crowded bus, then I got off at Fred Meyer and bought the groceries that Mama and I needed, then I boarded another bus with my rolling black bag, a tote bag bungee-corded to its handle and a smaller tote bag on the crook of my arm, then I got off and walked to Elephant's Deli where I bought a nice chunk of an affordable, scrumptious sheep's cheese, Sole di Sardegna, that they'd put back into stock because I requested it, and then I walked the rest of the block home. All of that had taken an hour and twenty-one minutes. How wonderful it is to live in the city!

After eating a really good supper that Mama had fixed, bless her sweet heart, and washing the dishes, I sat down to my little iBook, Honk, to look at e-mails and comments. Some were about a writers' group I've been invited to join, Write About Now. Lamont met a member, the mother of one of this friends, who sent me the invitation to post on their blog which I will do soon, and the group's founder sent a welcoming e-mail, with this quote beneath his salutation: "It's never too late to be what you might have been" George Elliot 1819-1880. I read that and felt buoyant with hope all through my 61-year-old self.

Then I went to Abraham Lincoln’s About Brookville where I read his latest thought-provoking, insightful, thrilling post, accompanied by the expected but always splendid photos. And I felt awe and a twinge of sadness that they just don’t make enough men (and women) like his Colonel Houser these days. Nevertheless, I felt hope that by sharing Mr. Lincoln's post, others would feel the strength of character he's written about, maybe being strengthened themselves in the reading and understanding. Like I commented to Mr. Lincoln, I cannot imagine my life without the chance to look at his numerous blogs where I learn untold amounts of wisdom and appreciation every time I click.

Then a few minutes after "Law and Order" started on NBC Wednesday night, I walked by the table and got another look at the two thumbnail value studies I had finished Tuesday night, for my watercolor class this coming Friday night. Rene Eisenbart, our teacher, asked us the first night to silence our critical voice, which is not easy to do. I've tried. When I put the paper down last night, I wasn't very happy with either one, saying it aloud to Mama. But now they've grown on me. In fact, what I thought was, "Enough time has passed that I've fallen in love with these two little watercolors." And I felt a great deal of joy at that quiet realization.

So, I couldn't help myself, as I so often tell you. I had to take photos of the two thumbnails to share with you. And as I took the photos, I knew I'd have to write all of this, too. It feels important to me to let you into my exuberant feelings. I want us all to find things like this in our lives to keep us sane and healthy and functioning. We have to do this, I firmly believe, or in the face of each day's news, we will suffer even more.

The thumbnails.





Now for the most fantastic VW bus I've seen since 1972. Be sure to look all the way to the bottom so that you can see what I'm talking about. Thanks!





















When my darling LeRoy and I planned our wedding on December 31, 1972, we were so thrilled that his friend and landlord Bob had given permission for us to wed in his wonderful home. My family came from Jackson, Mississippi, to Kansas City, Missouri, in my parents Champion motor home. For our rehearsal dinner, everyone climbed into the VW bus you see in the photo below and went to a spaghetti place, the name of which escapes me. I'm hoping Bob can remember. This is Bob's flower-covered jewel. When I look at it and think of my straight-laced, hippie-hating-probably-because-they-scared-him Daddy riding in this van, near my handsome husband-to-be whose hair was longer than mine, I get a great big grin on my face. Daddy's gone now, just like my darling LeRoy. Mama and my brother Howard, and my darling sons Lamont and Leland, and Daddy's sister Baker and her husband my uncle JL, and I miss the two of them, but we have some wonderful memories. Thanks, Bob, for sharing the photo.