Stacking Rocks

I have come across stacked rocks many times in my life and pause a moment to take in the beauty and wonder each time.  A few years ago my Dad, Mom, brother Scott and his wife Marla and I visited Moab.  Always such a beautiful place!  We went hiking and along the trail were Cairns.  At first it was hard to form the word but I came to know that you say it as if you are saying "Karen".   I asked my Dad what they were and he explained that in this setting people stack rocks to mark the trail.

Then I found out there is much more to the story.  Some people stack rocks as a form of art.  Some hikers call them "duckies" - which point the direction to the next stack because the top rock looks a little like a beak and it would lead the way to go - it's a little like the Hansel & Gretal bread crumb theory.

There are several purposes - they may mark a burial site, some mark the summit of a mountain, in North America many cairns were used for astronomy.  Cairns are found all over the world.  Universally it is customary that when you hike and come upon a stack of rocks you should always add your stone to the pile.

I like to think simple - in my mind they are beautiful!  I like to think there is meaning associated with the sculptor who started the cairn - it may be that they wanted to leave something behind so others could pick it up for their own meaning.  It could embody some kind of value worth reflecting upon.  It could be that as we scramble through our hectic lives and we come upon a cairn it makes us pause - and wonder upon it.

My sister has many Rock Stacks in her yard.  Each one unique, each one beautiful.  It seems that in the Price family we have always felt the need to pluck a rock from here or there.  Our Dad has many rocks - big and small that he has gathered over the years.  Each one has a story, each one has a message.

My sister Ruth gave me these rocks and I have stacked them on a shelf in my home.  I admire these rocks and change the positions sometimes.  There are days that I walk past this cairn and feel a need to reach out and touch it.  I like to think that the practice of stacking rocks is mainly a gesture of asking or wishing for good fortune to be bestowed on the stacker or possibly that each stone within the stack represents a particular wish for ones self or ones family.

Oh My . . .

See post dated July 15, 2010

My brother-in-law sent me this email that had a few t-shirts with cute sayings on them and I laughed so hard when I read this one that my boss walked in and asked if I was OK.  Yup!  I'm OK (oh the memories of what I have done . . ) and thanks Jim for the great email!  I'm sure he has NO idea that I posted my Klondike Bar memory - (because not to many manly men visit blogs), but it was perfect timing!  Go buy a Klondike Bar and I.N.D.U.L.G.E!!!!

My son Andrew D Petersen is having a birthday on July 17th!  My goodness, can he really be 31 years old?  Andy is such a laid back individual!  He loves nature, he is calm, has a huge heart and cares about others.  He had thick curly hair that grew fast!  His Dad finally got fed up with people calling him a girl so I cut his curly hair short. 

When Andy was about 1 1/2 he was standing on our back porch with a stick in his hand and he had the end of the stick in his mouth.  He fell off the porch and the stick went in his tongue.  Oh my goodness!  I was frantic, Amanda was worried and his Dad called "Ask a Nurse" to see if we needed to take him to emergency.  The answer was no - nothing they could do we just had to keep it clean.  So what does Andy want to eat?  Potato chips!  Little did we know that he knew better than all of us because the salt in the chips helped heal the cut much faster.  Such a tough little man!

Andy always loved to go to his Uncle Joe and Aunt Bonnie's dairy in Idaho.  The cows intrigued him! He would spend hours outside with the cows and following Uncle Joe around.  As he got older he would go to the dairy and help his cousin Matt do his chores.  I think Andy learned how to drive a motorcycle on the dairy.

Andy has an older sister.  Amanda Marie Petersen.  They were like 2 peas in a pod!  They cared about each other, played together and got into mischief together.  Both had wild imaginations and could pretend to be and go anywhere!  One day they were playing like they are on a train to Switzerland (picture above) and the next they were slaying dragons and saving the Queen - that would be me.

Andy married his sweetheart Jennifer this year - in April.  I get to be Grandma Janet to 3 wonderful kids, Samantha, Tabitha and Damon.  What fun we have had over the years!  They have been a family for about 5 years and I was thrilled when they decided to be married.  I am so proud of my son Andy for stepping in to be "Dad" to these kids.  Jennifer always tells me that Andy is the best thing that ever came into their lives because he has taught them kindness, rules, manners and that daddy's are good and kind.

I will be calling Andy tomorrow morning at 9:26 am to tell him how happy I am that he is my son and to sing Happy Birthday to him.  I have done this since the day he came into my life.  Every year for my kids - on their birthday I call at the time they are born and sing to them.  I make sure they know how important they are to me and what a joy it is to be their mother.  So, Happy Birthday son!

What would you do for . . .

Every once in a while I get a craving for "something".  One time it was my sister Ruth's Navajo Taco's. They are soooo yummy.  One time it was for a spinach feta wrap from Starbucks Coffee.  Anyway, you get the idea.  Well . . . today it has been a Klondike Bar!

My daughter Amanda and I used to do silly things like go to our local grocery store, buy a box of Klondike Bars and then drive like mad women through the neighborhood ( we didn't want our precious purchase to melt!) to find unsuspecting neighbors working in their yards, then stop and say to them "What would YOU do for a Klondike Bar"?  then regardless of what the answer was - we would give them one.  The total look of  "ohh yummy" on the recipients face was priceless!  It was so darn much fun!

Today as I am sitting at my desk, I keep singing the phrase from the Klondike commercial in my head , so I emailed Amanda and all I wrote was - What would you do-oo-ooo for a Klondike Bar?  She thought that was cute!  So . . . . On my way home tonight, I am going to stop and pick one up!  I'm sure that the package holds more than just one, so if you would like one come on over!