Banana fanna fo Firley - Fee fie mo Mirley, Shirley!
One of my most favorite people I worked with at Best Friends lives in Yakima and made I don't know how many 2 day drives to Kanab for awhile to work in the volunteer department. Each time she arrived, she was welcomed with big hugs from all of us at the Welcome Center. And I naturally regaled her in song with the Name Game song frequently! Shirley is open, fun, calm and simply warm and delightful. She was one of the "Women of Best Friends " in one of the crazy performances we did at the No Talent Talent Show based on The Mikado. Man, it was grand!
When Shirley made the decision to return to Yakima for good and leave Best Friends employ, I knew she would be sorely missed by all and especially by me. We had dinner before she left and it was just so comfortable and easy for both of us to chat away. We wondered why the heck we hadn't spent more time together outside of work before and now she was leaving. We find ways to keep in touch via Facebook and I knew that if/when this road trip occurred, I'd make sure that Yakima was enroute no matter where we were.
After our weekend in Leavenworth, we headed toward Yakima and arrived pretty much near lunchtime and Shirley welcomed us with open arms and heart. Her husband, Dale, who she's known since elementary school is retired from the forest service and claims that he is still there almost every day doing just the fun stuff as a volunteer and being with his beloved owls. He has got some fantastic photos of his important work of banding and tracking the owls in the Yakima area. And he is a font if knowledge about them and the land.
We took a couple of drives around the area and enjoyed each other's company, some fine restaurants, a movie at home, and relaxing moments on the patio. As Jose mentioned in his post, Shirley was excited to share her handmade jewelry, each a unique creation. Her excitement was contagious even catching hold of Jose and we immediately jumped in the car and headed for one of her favorite bead shops! We agreed to start our instruction in beading after dinner, but we couldn't stop from setting up our tools and supplies while waiting for the lasagna to bake. we were pretty excited to start and Shirley is a wonderful and patient teacher. I cannot describe how peaceful and happy I felt in this creative environment and it also was a learning experience in another way. As I beaded and observed Jose, Shirley and myself in the act of creation, it was interesting to see how differently each of us approached the task at hand and how each piece of work expressed our unique individuality even as we worked to help each other throughout the process. It is such a wonderful and meditative feeling and the joy I felt was very warm and safe deep inside my core.
Jose completed his bracelet after dinner while Shirley and I had to leave our projects for another day. The road trip should provide a lot of time for that so I hope to post some photos of the finished product soon; and additional ones in the future!
Needless to say, hanging with Shirley has been such a major highlight of the road trip and next time will be just as wonderful!
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