My son, Bill and I just returned from a week visiting Tehama Grace country. My mother, brothers, nephew, niece, her husband, and her children live in the area around where Tehama Grace was set. Bill and I had a great little vacation. Along with seeing all the family, we visited Sutter Buttes, the ranch country around Elk Creek, the Sundial Bridge in Redding, Mount Lassen Park (thank you brother Larry for arranging the road to open through the park the day before we all took our tour). We also made a few trips to Chico, California, one of my favorite places. We ate at Madison Bear Gardens, bought fruits and vegetables at the Thursday night street fair, and Bill visited the Sierra Nevada brewery several times!
Driving home, it occurred to me that going to Orland, Chico, Vina, Elk Creek, reminded me of my childhood in Iowa. I love the peace and quiet, the farmland, animals in pastures, birds singing, and sitting on the front porch in the evening petting the front porch kitty. It soothes my soul.
Interesting boomer aside...I purchased my cemetery plot while there. I know, I know, kind of creepy, but the cemetery is almost sold out. It's on a small hill, outside of Orland, California, and overlooks pastureland filled with cattle. Stony Creek bubbles slowly by. As a girl, I visited my Uncle Tom and Aunt Grace when they lived in Orland, before my parents moved there. I rode horses over that land, swam in Stony Creek, and dreamed of my future. My Dad is already buried in Graves' Cemetery. So is Uncle Tom and Aunt Grace.
On a lighter note...TEHAMA GRACE is now available as a 99 cent ebook from Amazon.com. I hope you enjoy it. This book is appropriate for all ages. Remember, you can download the Amazon Kindle application onto your computer, smart phone, ipad, and multiple other devices FOR FREE. And my books are all just 99 cents! Such a deal! (Except for Let Them Eat Cake, which is still under contract with the original publisher. It's worth the money, though. Good book if I do say so myself!)
