Berry season!

I spent yesterday and last night at my sister, Deby's.  She lives on the outskirts of Tacoma in a beautiful, quiet area that looks like country.  The house across the street is for sale, and includes a barn, pasture area and lots of acreage that is full of berries.  The last time the owner was there she got permission for us to go over and pick them. 

So yesterday afternoon, in the shadow of  Mt. Rainier, we filled our buckets with blackberries and blueberries.  There were a couple of raspberries, but most of those were already gone.  We brought them back and made the most wonderful berry cobbler.  Yum yum!  It would be easy to gain weight up here!

Little of this and that

     I spent Thursday night with my friends Patti and Hank in Redmond so I would be fairly close to the location of my interview Friday morning.  The school is called the Open Window School, and is in Bellevue, near and a bit south of Seattle.  It is a private school for gifted students, and has two classes of 18-20 for each grade K through 8th.  It was a nice modern campus up on the top of Cougar Mountain.  I'd never been there before, and was tremendously impressed with the view.  And in this area of tremendous views, that's saying something!

     As I made the drive west from Carson City, I was awed over and over by the beauty of the mountains.  I can not find words to describe the magnificence of this mountainous area, beginning in northern California and continuing on up through Oregon - Mt. Shasta, Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, and into Washington - Mt. Rainier.  Magnificent, awesome, beautiful, unbelievable - no words are enough.  I didn't realize how much I had missed this scenery.  It feels like home: restful, peaceful, comfortable.

     The interview went okay.  It wasn't what I was hoping for.  The position was called Instructional Assistant, and is pretty much like a teacher's aid, paying slightly more than McDonalds.  So I keep searching.

      It's been a while since I started this, and it's now Tuesday.  I'm at my friend Gloria's and will go with her to our class reunion on Saturday.  We've made plans to get our old "gang" together before the actual event, so it will be nice to have some time to spend with just us. 

     This week I've been sending out resumes into Oregon.  I plan to call all the places I apply before I leave here and see if I can come interview on my way back to Nevada.  So as the process continues, I will keep you informed as to how it's going.

     Thanks for keeping me in your prayers.  It means more to me than I can say.

And continues . . .

     It's been over a month since I've been at my Mom's house in Carson City (and that long since I've posted, too!).  During that time, I have spent every day continuing the hunt for a job.  I filled out the paperwork in order to transfer my PA certification to NV - I'm still waiting for that to be finalized.  I have bookmarked numerous job sites that I check every day, and I can't even remember how many resumes I have sent out.

     As my Mom and I got into the daily routine of sharing a home, I discovered that she isn't really ready to move yet.  She loves her doctor that is treating her back issues and she has a great support system with the friends she has at the Senior Center as well as a neighbor.  So I spent a considerable amount of time looking for teaching positions in Carson City only to discover that until that NV certification comes through I can't be hired.

     My sister Amy and I have talked about this at length (she is now living just two hours from my Mom) and have come to the conclusion that I need to find a job, and just trust that the rest will work out when the time is right.  So I once again broadened my search to include Oregon and Washington.
   
     Oregon is the same as Nevada in that I can't be hired until I have Oregon credentials, but Washington gives you a year to complete all the paperwork once you're hired.  So while I wait on the bureaucracy of Nevada and Oregon, I have concentrated on Washington.

      Yesterday I started the drive to Washington - for two reasons.  First, I'm hoping to have an interview at a school in Bellevue (near Seattle) on Friday.  And second, I have a high school reunion the following weekend!  More on both of those tomorrow as I want to get back on the road.

     So for now, from Grant's Pass, Oregon, stay tuned as my journey continues. . .