August Part 1 ~ Lima Beans

August. I was not home. The end.

Ha ha! That's kind of how it felt! Usually August is so busy with blackberries and tomatoes, roses and weeds, reading on the shady back porch in the afternoons, monsoon rains and thunderstorms. I missed all of that this year. When I got home from four weeks in California (sounds like a dream, doesn't it?) It was sunny and hot in Utah County, mid to high 90's just like I had left at Diana and Nick's house. I was sad that I missed all of the big booming, echoing-off-the-mountains thunder that comes at summer's end. But then just yesterday I got my wish! I was so happy! I threw open windows and breathed in that damp, earthy smell of summer rain!


If I had to miss August at home though, there is no place I would rather have been! A few weeks before Diana fell and broke her hip I was feeling all sorry for Gramma Me. I ached to hold Lucas in my arms in the worst way. Alas, lack of funding and time prevented me from getting my wish. I was sad. One Sunday evening and an uneven piece of concrete on a path changed all of that. The very next day I was packing madly, trying to be on time for an early evening flight. My love to those who generously donated those funds.  The interesting thing was that Dee had a flight out to Orange county that morning to attend Junior Nationals. He was on a recruiting trip. Diana was at a hospital in Thousand Oaks because they had been visiting Nick's grandparents for the weekend, therefore I flew into the John Wayne Airport that evening and was picked up by my husband. Funny how that worked out! He took me on the quick five minute drive to Irvine where he was staying and I got to sleep in a Lima bean silo. Yes. A Lima bean silo.

NOT!!!

Here is the La Quinta Inn and Suites in Irvine, California. I never realized how big farming had once been in this area. This building is historic and La Quinta preserved and renovated it. I was fascinated!

  It is located in the same space as historic Old Irvine. This is the original Irvine Post Office which shares the same parking area with the hotel. It's a charming bungalow style. One of my personal favorites and sooo early 20th century California.

I literally turned around and took this shot of the hotel. It's a bit washed out because the sun was so bright. They even left the chutes on the outside that would load up the train cars with the beans.

Now, the interior is not for the haters of anything industrial but being a former farm girl myself, I loved it! You are literally inside of a silo.

 It's all concrete so the pipes and electrical were on the walls.

Here is a shot of where the concrete was cut to make a entryway. Did you know your sidewalks looked like that on the inside? You know...you could polish that up

 and make a pretty counter top out of it!

I stood in that entryway and took this shot of the room.

Here is the map of the facility.As you can see, there were 22 silos. They have made each one into a four story column of rooms. All of them are connected by a nice interior hallway.

I am annoyed that I did not take a picture of the bath area. Here is one I found on Google.  Those walls were finished off with drywall and it was tiled in a checkerboard white and gray with  sunny yellow accents. So fun!

I love historic buildings and the stories behind them!

I found a few more pictures online that show the property a bit better.

Look! There it is so close to the freeway but HEY!

 You're sleeping in a concrete Lima bean silo so you don't hear a thing!
Look at the farmland still in use. I'll bet this area was once ALL farmland.

The pool I had no time to use.

The breakfast room.

 It was literally five minutes from Orange County airport and very close to the pool where Dee would be working for the next week. By the way...is there an airport that has more names?
It goes by the following:
Orange County Airport
Orange County - John Wayne Airport
John Wayne Airport
Santa Ana - Orange County Airport    SNA on your luggage tag. Confused yet? That's OK, it's a pretty airport and so easy to use and all of the pilots know where to land!

The next day Nick would meet me at my silo with Lucas and the three of us would head south to the San Diego area where he needed to get back to work. Meanwhile Diana was stuck in an oncology unit in Thousand Oaks where the nurses were not used to dealing with an orthopedic paitents' needs. (Ortho was full.) It took several days and my daughter finally getting really mean for them to get a PT team to help her learn to use crutches and navigate stairs so she could come home. Never mind that her pelvis was broken in two places and she still needed surgery! That's another story for another day.

P.S. Did you know there is Lima bean art?

   

Some of it is rather disturbing!

Can We Catch a Break?

Another crazy week with many trips back and forth to visit that sweet baby in the NICU. He is growing slowly but surely, now up to 6 lbs. 6.9 oz! He is looking a bit fuller in his face and has noticeably grown, but his pediatrician called him a "lazy white boy" because he would rather sleep than eat. Too true! Here lies Lucas in a bed that's changed for him every day, with all of these darling nurses tending to his every need. He has been there for three weeks now and they all love him. I must admit that he is a darling boy and hardly ever cries. He is a sweet little guy!

Lucas' Mommy was growing a bit sad near mid-week. Progress comes in spurts and then there seems to be a step backward. It is so hard to leave him at the hospital and come home! Things were looking up on Friday because Nick came in from San Diego to be with his little family for the weekend, He has been working hard at school, getting an A on his first big paper. Everything seemed right to have him back. Diana perked up and I was able to focus on my Farmer's Market on Friday while Nick took over my driving duties.

On Saturday afternoon Diana started telling us that her back was hurting quite badly. She asked Nick for a back rub, which he put off because he was involved with something else. Pretty soon she was near tears pleading for a back rub so he said, "let's go down to the couch and I'll give you one." As she stood up she began to cry. She could not straighten up. Brittany got a hot pack for her and Nick dutifully rubbed where the pain was. It was soon time to go back to feed Lucas so she stood slowly and painfully walked all bent over. I felt so badly for her. At the hospital she expressed her concerns to the nurses in the NICU  after Lucas was fed and they sent her straight down to the ER. Diagnosis? Pulmonary Embolism or blot clot in the lung. She has Factor V Leiden just like her Dad and has been on blood thinners through her pregnancy. It didn't matter apparently. The C-section was the trump card. We waited up until after midnight to hear the test results. She spent the weekend in the hospital and was released on Tuesday morning. Nick extended his stay two days so they got to spend some good time together there in the hospital. He just wheeled her upstairs anytime they wanted to visit their son.

I wrote the above on Tuesday. I never got back to it. I find it ironic that I asked in the title if we could catch a "break". Tuesday night late I got a call from one of Rachel's friends telling me that she had taken a bad fall at roller derby practice (yes, I said roller derby) and they thought her leg might be broken. I could hear hear screaming in the background, bad words and all. That was my daughter. We picked Brittany up at her condo about ten minutes later and headed to Provo by about 10:30 pm. Rachel has a spiral fracture in her lower left fibula. We saw an orthopedic surgeon today and were told she would need surgery. The break has torn the ligaments that support her ankle. They will put a titanium plate on the bone to help support the ligaments while they heal.

 

I am so weary. But I suppose it is better to be weary from well-doing than from anything else. Nick's mother Tammi has come from Germany for a pre-planned visit and has taken quite a load off of my shoulders. She has taken Diana to all of Lucas' feedings since Tuesday. The only bad part about this is that I miss doing this....

Good Morning Viet Nam!

Yesterday I was hit by a truck at 7:40 a.m. Ouch! My poor car and I were crunched by a sweet little Vietnamese man. He swims at the Fitness Center every morning and was just leaving to go home as I was arriving to deliver some hot cocoa to Dee and his swimmers. It was very chilly for an outdoor practice! "I not see! I not see! Oh! You are ok? I so sorry!" he cried as he came to my window. He told me he had been admiring the flowers across the street at the cemetery which was all decorated for Memorial Day. He started up from the stop sign without seeing me. "Twenty year I live here and no accident. This my first!" I felt so badly for him. I called Dee to come out and lend me a hand. I knew I was not badly hurt but I was shaken up. When the other driver saw Dee he laughed and said, "It YOUR fault! YOUR fault! You tell me get in and swim. If I had left then, no accident!" apparently Dee and Mr. Viet Nam were old pals! That's when I said, "Yes, it IS your fault! If you had let me just drive home from my early run to the airport (Britt left on vacation) and not begged me to bring you hot cocoa I would be home now (and NO accident!). I am blaming him!

Today I am sore and even limping! My right side feels like it got slammed by a Chevy S-10 pick-up. I will see my osteopath for a good adjustment and hopefully some therapeutic massage on Thursday, just after I drop off my poor Town and Country for her body work. I wish I could visit a body shop and come out all shiny and new too! (No wrinkles would be great!)

Yesterday also happened to e the 50th anniversary of the Viet Nam war. Strangely appropriate.