The sad one I’ve been meaning to write.

A year ago yesterday, I lost my dad.

Yes, he’d been battling cancer for two years. And, yes, he was in the ICU. But it was still a shock.

Thanksgiving picnic with family — Phillip, me, Dad, Mom on our Thanksgiving 2015 picnic.

It seems like a million years ago. But also like it was just last month. It seems impossible that he was ever here, living, breathing, just a phone call away. And it also seems impossible that now he’s not.

my parents eating on a restaurant patio — Mom and Dad at having lunch at Main St. Sweets in Mesa.

mosaic on a hospital wall — Mosaic by Rylee Sturgeon at Banner Ocotillo Medical Center, Chandler.

My dad showed me how to notice the little details, especially in nature. He loved a hike, he loved a road trip, was curious about the world, and wanted to make the most of opportunities that popped up along the way. (“As long as we’re here, we might as well… go inside and check out the menu / take a boat tour / drive a few more miles to see a wagon train re-enactment / take a helicopter ride / see what it’s like to park in the desert and watch a dust storm….”)

He believed in being prepared (often way over-prepared). He liked building things and was actually very big on safety. Thanks to his influence, I cringe when someone on tv is using power tools or handling dangerous materials without the gloves or eye protection that they should be wearing.

landscape of a park in Chandler with a view of San Tan mountains in the background — “Sunrise Over San Tan” by Arizona photographer Marilyn Smith on the wall at Banner Ocotillo Medical Center.

I have started and stopped writing a version of this several times over the past year, and I’m determined to get through it this time – even if it means ending abruptly. (Many things do.)

Dad with us two kids — Me, Dad, and my adorable little sibling Ian!

Dad leaning on a walking stick outside a medical building — Dad with his favorite walking stick outside MD Anderson Cancer Center.

So although I haven’t even scratched the surface of the multi-faceted person my dad was or how he meant so much to me, I’ll just leave you with a few highlights of Dad helping out on this site.

Top Marty Moments on Travelcraft Journal

1. He wrote a post about he and mom randomly walking into a restaurant in Prescott, where almost everyone was wearing pajamas.

2. The time he agreed to model sunglasses.

3. When he explained how an insulated water bottle works. I had hoped he’d be able to contribute his technical explanations more regularly. We even talked about doing a series where he pointed out Pinterest crafts that were actually fire hazards or otherwise bad ideas.

4. His cinematographer role on our Mt. Lemmon video.

December 19, 2019November 4, 2021

Holiday Party Punch

My mom likes to throw these big, informal, everyone-come-on-over get-togethers, especially around Christmas. She’ll set out a bunch of food, while Dad gets the firepit going.

One perennial favorite of her holiday buffets is a delicious hot punch with spiced cranberry and citrus flavors. It tastes like the holidays and makes the house smell amazing. It’s particularly excellent for sipping around the fire on a chilly night.

The recipe makes enough for a crowd without requiring a lot of fuss, so you can focus on decking the halls and whatever else you need to do.

Mom makes it (by the gallon) and serves it in her crockpot to keep it hot all evening. She’ll put a ladle and a stack of festive mugs next to it, so guests can help themselves.

Although the title on her recipe card says “cranberry tea,” the tea part is actually optional. Most of the time, she leaves it out. Then you have an equally delicious hot cranberry punch.

Hot Cranberry Tea (or Punch) Recipe

1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup loose black tea (omit for punch)
3 cups sugar
2 cups orange juice
1/2 gallon cranberry juice
1 cup lemon juice (or substitute a 12-ounce can of frozen lemonade and reduce sugar to 2 cups)
10 cups + 6 cups of hot water

Optional: orange and/or lemon slices and cinnamon sticks (for garnish).

Wrap the spices and tea in a piece of cheesecloth or place into a tea infuser.
Steep in 10 cups of hot water for 20 minutes.
Add sugar, juices, and 6 more cups of hot water.
If desired, garnish with orange or lemon slices and cinnamon sticks.
Serve hot.

Makes about 7 quarts of punch. (Invite a lot of people over.)

Cheers!

July 31, 2019July 26, 2019

Here in Tucson

Phillip and I are big fans of Tucson.

So we moved here.

It was a possibility we had thought about for awhile, but then things happened super fast when Phillip got a new job. He started just over two weeks after being hired, before we even had a place to live.

Thankfully, friends let him crash on their couches his first week.

Moving weekend was kind of a mess. I wasn’t ready. I underestimated – everything. Even though Tucson is just an hour and a half south of Phoenix, this was the biggest move I’ve done. If you don’t count my semester abroad, it’s the first time I’ve had an address outside the county I was born in.

At the end of all that craziness, though, we were in our new apartment.

While we’re definitely still unpacking and settling in, we have our Tucson library cards and Quijote’s new tags are on the way. We’ve done our second Meet Me at Maynards walk – our first as Tucson residents – checked out the night market at Mercado San Agustin, visited the Tucson Botanical Gardens, and are trying out new places to eat, drink, and shop while regularly finding excuses to revisit the ones we were already fans of.

We’re happy to be here and happy to be together.

April 13, 2017February 7, 2019

The Force of Memories

In honor of the Star Wars Celebration Orlando convention currently happening, here is a post Phillip wrote with thoughts inspired by Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in 2015. –S

“Chewie, weʼre home.”

With those lines, from the world premiere of the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer at the Star Wars Celebration Anaheim convention, grown men around me were in tears.

I might have gotten a little emotional too. It had been 30 long years since we last saw the Millennium Falcon on the big screen and our two favorite pilots at the helm.

Almost that long ago, in the mid-eighties, I remember being a seven-year-old kid, driving through the streets of Phoenix with my Uncle David. I grilled him about the future of the Star Wars and hung on to every morsel of news he passed on to me.

What makes these movies particularly powerful is the shared memories they create, especially across generations.

Iʼm not exactly sure when it was when I saw Star Wars (A New Hope) for the ﬁrst time. I always remember it being a part of my life.

“Through the force, things you will see.
Other places. The future… the past.
Old friends long gone.”
–Yoda from The Empire Strikes Back

For me, getting together at my grandparents’ house along with my aunts, uncles, and cousins meant a chance to watch Star Wars on Uncle David’s Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) player! I look back on those times now with fond memories.

Both of my grandparents have been gone for decades now. Yet when I watch any of the original trilogy movies, the memory of my family and my grandparentsʼ home is forever intertwined in the story of “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.”

As I got older, I carried on the tradition with my oldest nephew, introducing him to LEGO Star Wars. Cameron and I sat around putting together spaceships for hours. While he is older now, I still cherish the memories of his youthful enthusiasm when I showed him a new set.

As we watched the trailer for The Force Awakens at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, everyone there had their own memories to bring to that moment. Memories of how Star Wars connected them to people and events in their own lives. For two minutes, the sights and sounds of a galaxy far, far away brought us a little closer to our own memories of long ago.

They also reminded us to be mindful of the present: the good times are not just in the past.

October 10, 2016October 10, 2016

San Diego Souvenir Mug

Phillip has been on this much-appreciated fixing-things-with-superglue kick.

He’s currently putting back together the mug my grandma got me as a souvenir of our 2003 trip to San Diego.

She had vacation time, wanted to go to San Diego, but didn’t feel she could make the drive alone, so I got to go along.

I drove and we worked as a team to figure out how to navigate San Diego – exploring the Gaslamp Quarter, peeking in at the inner workings of the Balboa Park pipe organ, accidentally visiting the zoo on (super crowded!) free day, shopping in Seaport Village, spontaneously deciding to take a Duck tour (laughing as the amphibious vehicle splashed into the bay), and wandering through the colorful Old Town Market that’s commemorated on my mug. We would walk from our hotel to the beach or to this Italian restaurant that had a second story with a view of the ocean.

She would actually be turning 86 today if it hadn’t been for pancreatic cancer in 2007.

I wish there was a word for the opposite of regret, to describe things that, even in hindsight, you are 100% glad you did.

I’m so grateful for that trip to San Diego with Grandma.