Advent is here. Christmas is coming! (martha)

Advent is the start of the Christian liturgical year. Each Sunday before Christmas, one candle is lit until all four are burning.  On Christmas Day, the white candle in the center is lit to celebrate the birth of Jesus:

Candle 1. Hope (purple)
Candle 2. Peace (purple)
Candle 3. Joy (rose)
Candle 4. Love (purple)
Candle 5. Christ (white) is lit on Christmas Day celebrating the birth of Jesus.

We are poised on the edge of 2012, a New Year. We arrived (here) in September 2009.  These are my conclusions as I reviewed our time since then.

• We feel settled.  The end of house renovations helped accomplish that!
• Jeff worked part-time at a golf course (for 18 mos.) 2 days/week until Nov..
• We keep busy (how did we ever have time to work?) The days pass quickly.
• In fact. Jeff got out golfing more often when living in Minnesota and Virginia!
• Our "jobs" (as volunteers) give us joy.
• Jeff took this wise advice, 'When you volunteer, choose something that is transformational and improves someone's life.' He experiences that most often by tutoring adult classes in speaking English through the Literacy Volunteers of Tucson.
• We LOVE the pace of life...much slower, calmer and less frantic!
• Less traffic.  Only one Interstate skirts the western edge of the city, we travel on city streets.  It may take us longer to go ten miles, but we aren't in a hurry to reach out destination.
• We savor the journey.
• We enjoy involvements in our wider community (e.g. jointly serving meals to seniors each week,) church and our neighborhood.
• I attend Pilates classes three days/week.  First time, I've had time for that.
• We host visitors.  In January - April 2012, we have five sets of confirmed visitors. Three more visits are pending during that time frame.
• Please call ahead to reserve time at the Kraus Bed & Breakfast.
  We might be full!
• Christmas will be spent in Minnesota (an annual trip).
• New Year's will be spent in California (first time) attending the Rose Parade.
• We miss friends, family, and amenities from other places we have lived.
• That said, this is our home. We are content.

Summer Fun 2011.........martha

Jeff and I were delighted to take 3 trips this summer starting in July and ending in September! There is no way we captured all the sites, sounds and experiences in pictures.  We were too busy having fun to stop for photos.  These are a few snapshots taken by Jeff and courtesy of other photographers; Dustin Froyum, Brian Stangl, Linnea Berg, and Julie Plaxico Wright.

Trip 1  

Driving to Minnesota (July-August).  The three main events were the Berg cousin family reunion on the Berg family farm in Welch.  Secondly, the Kraus dinner hosted by Jeff’s Dad for his 7 children and their respective spouses. Lastly, a “Kraus” family party for the extended Kraus family; siblings, spouses, “kids” and their children.    In between times we had smaller gatherings with family and friends.  Jeff captured the day we spent at the Minnesota Zoo with our nephew, Brian Stangl, and his three girls.  Alas, Gina (a.k.a. the Mom,) was attending a workshop for the beginning of school.

Martha at the Petrified Forest NE Arizona

Painted Desert NE Arizona

Extended Berg cousin family reunion.

Brian Stangl with Evie (13 months,) Macie (4 1/2) and Natalie (6)

Jeff and Martha with our great nieces at MN Zoo.

Trip 2

Labor Day weekend in San Diego.  We spent three delightful days with our goddaughter Annabelle Jane Wright, (14 months old,) and her parents, Julie and Mike. We had fabulous accommodations (the master suite) vacated by Annabelle’s grandparents, Pops and Nena (a.k.a. Bob and Nancy Plaxico).  Our excursions revolved around Annabelle’s naps; that pace suited us well.

Julie, Annabelle and Mike Wright - San Diego, CA.

Annabelle, Julie, Jeff and Martha. 

Jeff and Martha. View of San Diego from Mt. Soledad.

The next three days were spent visiting Sea World, Coronado, Tierrasanta Lutheran Church (where my cousin is the pastor,) Gaslamp Quarter, breakfast with my sister, Linnea Berg (who drove down from L.A.,) and a fascinating tour of the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier.

Shamu, the killer whale at Sea World

Dolphin Show

USS Midway Aircraft Carrier

Jeff and Martha on the USS Midway.  In the background, the aircraft carrier used for burial of Osama Bin Laden

Trip 3

We flew to Minnesota for the weekend of September 17.  Our nephew, Mike Kraus, was married to Jenelle Savre.  Sunday was a surprise retirement party for our brother-in-law, Al Stangl.  Al is married to Jeff’s sister, Jeanine.

Wedding of Jenelle Savre and Michael Kraus

Wedding of Jenelle and Michael

Mr. and Mrs. Mike and Jenelle (Savre) Kraus

Al Stangl with his grandchildren.
L-R Macie, Eli, Evie and Natalie

Al and Jeanine (Jeff's sister) & grandson, Eli Stangl

Oh, in case you were wondering...the surprise worked!

MN Hajj #2

Tuesday (7/26) we begin making our second MN hajj. We are trying a new route that will hopefully knock off a couple hundred miles roundtrip, and provide a new travel adventure.

The two main reasons for the hajj are a Berg family reunion on 7/30 and a dinner with my Dad and family on 8/3. Other than that, we will try to catch up with family and friends, and enjoy the ambiance of God's country.

Hard to believe it has been two years since I retired (7/31/09). I have not been bored. The first year was pretty much focused on getting the house fixed up. I still have a few projects, but I am very happy and comfortable with our home. Come visit!

The second year saw us widen our circle a bit. Though we were involved in our church and local charity (ICS – delivering meals) almost as soon as we arrived, I added Literacy Volunteers of Tucson (LVT) tutoring to my plate. LVT is involved in basic literacy and English Language Acquisition for Adults (ELAA). I chose ELAA because I wanted to be in a classroom setting.

Over the last two years we have started developing our community, first at church, then in our neighborhood. It really makes a difference when friendships start blossoming. For me, Tucson is starting to feel like home, and a place I can be very comfortable for many years.

When I look back over the last two years, and look at the current economic situation in the US, I am very mindful of how blessed I am. I was able to secure and maintain a federal government career that enabled me to retire “young”. I have the love and support of family and friends. Martha has been faithfully by my side for 31 years, loving me warts and all. Most importantly, God has been with me every step of the way. I know it is by his grace that I am able to enjoy this time of my life.

How Dry is it in Arizona.....(martha)

It's so dry in Arizona that

• the Baptists are starting to baptize by sprinkling,
• the Methodists are using wet-wipes,
• the Presbyterians are giving out rain-checks and
• the Catholics and Lutherans are praying for the wine to turn back into water.

Our hummingbird and blooming cactus (martha)

Since May, we've had DAILY visits from............

'Hey, this is new. Should I take a drink?'....Oh, this is delicious!



Blooms came (again) to color our world!

We added flagstones - see right side (above) leading to the gate.

Desert Blooms

Color in our world over the past few weeks.



Another cactus near our garage:

Our backyard.

Here's the place where we see our backyard while rocking and relaxing!

Outside our neighborhood....

Fun with Friends

Our good friends from VA, Gayle and Mike Andrews, visited us last week. We have known them for almost 31 years. We had a great time catching up and also introducing them to the unique beauty and ambiance of Tucson and the SW desert environment. We did a day trip to Bisbee, and also had a chance to do our favorite things.

Gayle and Martha had tea at the Chantilly Tea Room




Mike and I had a chance to play golf - twice. The second time we played the El Conquistador Canada course. That is the course that our house is on. The photo below shows us on the 14th green after I sank a birdie putt. Our house can be seen just to the left of my right arm. But Mike had the shot of the day, sinking a downhill, snaking, 40 foot putt that had to almost stop on the crest before funneling down to the hole. That was incredibly fun to watch.

Snow...in Tucson?!

During the night, I heard the rain. When I woke up...here is what I saw!


Once dawn broke and the night sky got lighter, this was my view.

In the front yard....





The view from the back of the house overlooks the golf course. Guess nobody will question a frost delay when their T-time is pushed back!

Ah, the snow is already gone.

Bet you wish YOUR winter only lasted a day, right?

February brought Friends!....(Martha)

Kathleen McDonough and I first met at a Girl Scout camp the summer of 1975. We were both “unit leaders” in charge of 24 campers and 2-3 staff counselors assigned to us. Needless to say we survived…barely. The kids knew more about camping than we did!

Kathleen and her friend, Mike Corbett, were "game" to visit the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum where we are members. We never tire of taking the docent led tours, live animal shows or watch the specially trained hawks in the Raptor show. One day trip took us to the wine country and pizza lunch at the Velvet Elvis!

Book now or the B&K Bed and Breakfast might be full!