First Flights-www.jillrutanhoffman.com

Check out this website....Our daughter-in-law, Jill Rutan Hoffman, recently published her second book and it is wonderful. We are all so proud of her. If you love flying, and who doesn't, you will love these stories. Many of them keep you on the edge of your seat wondering how they will end. Jill and I are both wives of Air Force Test Pilots and we have lived through some pretty exciting times. I'm sure that we weren't always told the "whole story" by our husbands, but sometimes that was a good thing. I encourage you to purchase and read this fantastic book and if you have children who are interested in aviation, perhaps they could someday be reliving some of these stories.

I've been busy cleaning the Pinetop home this week and will soon be sitting down in my studio to solder away. I want to finish some earrings I'm making for a friend and then I will be starting a cuff bracelet. I am waiting for my silver order as I type so maybe it will arrive tomorrow and I can begin.

The weather up here is delightful. It is certainly better than the 112 degrees we suffered through in Green Valley last week - whew!! I don't know how people can stand that heat full time.

I guess I've rambled on long enough - not much to report. Have a great week and don't forget to check out Jill's blog at www.jillrutanhoffman.com. Cheers, Sally

A Day of Remembering

Today is officially Memorial Day. A day when we gather to enjoy friends and family. It is also a day that we should remember those who have served our country and especially those who lost their lives protecting ours. We must remember their families who have also sacrificed so much. I was an Air Force spouse for 27 years and although most of it was remarkably rewarding, there were those moments when sadness entered all of our lives. Those times when we lost a friend. Those times when a wife or husband lost their spouse, best friend, and lover. Those times when a child lost their parent, role model and hero.

For those of you who watched the Memorial Day Concert in Washington, DC last night, it was all too clear the sacrifices that are being made on our behalf.

Take a moment each morning when your feet touch the ground to say thank you and offer a special prayer for those very special people - most of whom we don't even know but that shouldn't matter. Say a prayer for the spouse, child and parent in their lives. Say a prayer for their safe return to this wonderful country of ours that without their volunteering for duty we wouldn't be enjoying today.

Hugs to our heros and their families. God Bless them all and God Bless America.