Ten Years of Travel

Steve and I are moving Trevor into the dorms today (!) which means we've been going through a bunch of his stuff recently, as he figures out what he will be taking with him to college. Along the way, we have found some things we're both fine letting go. These include: 

• his extensive collection of barely-recognizable Rainbow Loom art (he gave away the kit itself years ago)
• the vast majority of his Perler Bead creations (we're keeping what fits on the display board) 
• random recyclable items he hoarded when he was young (because everything is a potential craft) 
• a lot of projects involving pony beads and lanyard string
• the projects from four books' worth of Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction (he's keeping the books themselves, for now anyway)

For the next few days, I'll be sharing some treasures we've uncovered. Treasures to me, anyway. After preserving them here on the blog, I'll be able to let them go. 

First up, this United States Field Guide. 

It came in the Little Passports Welcome Packet Trevor received for Christmas when he was 7. He diligently filled out the About Me page with his neatest handwriting. (Now, his handwriting is a barely legible scrawl, but he does know how to spell "because" correctly.) 

In 2013, Trevor had been to six states in addition to his home state of California. Of the remaining 43 states, he was most interested in visiting Texas "beacause it is so big and beacause it has a fort as a picture." Ten years later, shortly after he turned 17, Trevor visited his 50th state. That fort? He didn't visit it on his first visit to Texas in 2018, when we explored Austin. Nor did we see it during his second trip to Texas in 2023, when we spent time in Fort Worth and Dallas. (Despite the name, there is no longer a fort in Fort Worth.) It took a third visit to Texas last spring for Trevor to finally tour the fort in San Antonio that interested him at age 7. 

What a joy to rediscover the Field Guide that first got Trevor so excited about travel! 

It. Goes. So. Fast.

Tomorrow is a big day in the deRosier house. Not just big - huge. Trevor is moving into the dorms at UC Davis. Our only child is going to his top-choice university to study what interests him most in life. He has wanted this for so long; we've wanted it for him even before he knew what a university was. We are thrilled for him and so, so proud. 

But there are other emotions too, of course. Sending your child out into the world is hard, in so many ways. Somehow, 18 years has flown by. My baby is an adult. How?! 

Mary Louise Kelly, host of NPR's All Things Considered, gets it. I just finished listening to her memoir, It. Goes. So. Fast. I loved it. Affiliate link here and below. 

In terms of parenting experiences, Mary Louise Kelly and I don't have a lot in common. She was reporting on war zones during her children's early years; I was a stay-at-home mom, spending my days with other moms at parks and libraries. Her kids had a nanny; Trevor literally never had a paid babysitter. In their teen years, Kelly was live on the air when her kids got out of school; I volunteered at the school and picked Trevor up from school every day. But we both love our children with our whole hearts and we both now know firsthand how quickly the time with them flies by. 

Kelly's book is as much about her career as it is about being a mom, because the two are intertwined. And honestly, if her memoir wasn't about parenthood at all, I would still have loved it. She's had a fascinating career and is such a gifted storyteller. I usually recommend printed books, but in this case, get the audiobook. Hearing her words in her own voice is powerful, especially when she is talking about her sons. Pure love. 

Subpar Parks

I've been doing a lot of jigsaw puzzles lately, on my doctor's orders. (Best prescription ever!) Along with proper rest, healthy eating, and exercise, puzzles help with the brain fog that is associated with cancer treatment. Jigsaw puzzles have many other benefits, including reducing stress, improving short-term memory, and preventing cognitive decline. And not just for cancer patients. Everyone, including children, can benefit cognitively, emotionally, and physically from regularly solving jigsaw puzzles. 

My friend Kathy recently sent me the Subpar Parks puzzle. If you're not familiar with Subpar Parks, you're definitely missing out. Artist Amber Share has illustrated the actual 1-star reviews tourists have left after visiting each of the National Parks. They are hilarious. 

Subpar Parks is also a book. (Affiliate links here and below.) In addition to the illustrated reviews of each park, it has information about the history and features of the National Parks.  

I've been to quite a few of our country's National Parks. I'm a fan. I give the concept of National Parks 5 stars. They are, without a doubt, America'a Best Idea. 

That said, I don't love them all equally. Each park has many 5-star qualities about it, but I definitely think some parks are better than others. I thoroughly enjoyed Gateway Arch, but I don't think anyone could argue that it is better than Yosemite, for example, even at its most crowded. Hot Springs was really neat, but I preferred Acadia. I wouldn't have loved it nearly so much in the winter. I had a fantastic time at Congaree, but an even better time at Badlands... even though it was 105° when we were there. 

Obviously, there are a lot of factors that can impact how much someone enjoys a visit. I can see how crowds, high prices, bad weather, a closed visitor center, aggressive insects, and other factors could completely ruin a park for someone, but I have a hard time seeing how anyone could then leave a 1-star review. I'm glad they did, though. Not only are they really funny, but presumably the authors will not be returning, and that's one fewer miserable person there the next time I visit a National Park.

My Breast Cancer Journey

It has been less than four months since I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It's hard to believe, as it feels like breast cancer has been part of my life for much, much longer. Fortunately, I am at the end of active treatment (surgery and radiation) and now consider myself a breast cancer survivor. 

To be clear, I do not consider myself cancer-free, in remission, or in any way "done" with cancer. I have ten years of endocrine therapy and oncology appointments still ahead of me. I may have late side effects or even a recurrence. But I have survived so far. And I'm doing well. 

Throughout my breast cancer journey, I've been keeping friends and family informed through CaringBridge. I've now copied all of my posts over here to my blog, where anyone can access them without having to create an account. I hope that sharing the details of my journey will help future patients, or their loved ones, to learn more about breast cancer and see one possible outcome. 

https://www.cindyderosier.com/p/my-breast-cancer-journey.html

Crayon Melt State Fruits: Pear, Peach, Strawberry, Watermelon, and Tomato

It's been almost four years since I've pulled out the warming tray to do a crayon melt project. I'm surprised it's been that long, since it's one of my favorite techniques. I love the painterly effect it gives on these, each of which is an official state fruit.  

Pears are the state fruit of Oregon. 

Peaches are the state fruit of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. (Technically, peaches are Alabama's state tree fruit.)

Strawberries are the state fruit of Delaware, Louisiana, North Carolina (technically, the state red berry), and Oklahoma.

Tomatoes are the state fruit of Arkansas, Ohio, and Tennessee.

OK, I lied. Watermelon is not a state fruit. It is the state vegetable of Oklahoma. If you think a tomato should be considered a vegetable and watermelon a fruit, don't take it up with me. Botanically, tomatoes are fruit and so are watermelons, but Oklahoma has valid arguments for considering watermelon a vegetable. 

I didn't make crayon melts of all of the state fruits. Others include oranges, apples, huckleberries, blackberries, plums, blueberries, grapes, cranberries, chokecherries, grapefruit, cherries, and pawpaws. Feel free to make those, or anything else, using the technique below. The materials list includes affiliate links. 

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Crayon Melt State Fruits

Materials:

• warming tray
• white paper
• crayons
• microtip scissors
• craft glue

Steps:

Plug in the warming tray. and put a sheet of paper on top. Scraps are perfectly ok. Use crayons to color in the fruits you'll be making. You can blend and layer colors as much as you want. 

I recommend removing the wrappers from the crayons and laying them on their sides for faster, more even coverage. When you do that, you're going to get wax that transfers to the crayon, but that's not a problem. Here you can see that I put the white crayon into an area I'd colored dark green, which blended and transferred to the crayon. To clean it off, just color on a clean area of paper. 

You have two choices when adding details to your project. For the watermelon seeds, I just dotted black crayon directly onto the hot red wax. Since the black shows up really well on red, this is a good option. 

If I'd tried to add the yellow strawberry seeds on top of the red wax while it was hot, they would have blended in too much. Instead, I removed the strawberry, let it cool completely, cut out my shape, then returned it to the warming tray for just long enough to warm up. Then I was able dot on little bits of yellow. 

Don't forget to color the stems and leaves that you'll be using on your fruits. When you've colored everything, unplug the warming tray and let the wax set. Then cut out the shapes using scissors. Glue the leaves and stems to the appropriate fruit. Have fun!