Pat Bean's blog

Folks, we have reached our cruising altitude now, so I am going to switch the seat belt sign off. Feel free to move about as you wish, but please stay inside the plane till we land. It’s a bit cold outside and if you walk on the wings it affects the flight pattern.” – This is the Captain speaking.

I saw blooming cacti everywhere I looked in Tucson. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Hello Austin

I take to the air this afternoon, flying to Austin to attend the Women’s Circle Network Stories from the Heart writing conference.

I’ve been looking forward to this event for months. I will be meeting up with some of the women I met at the event two years ago, and will also be meeting face to face with many women who have become dear friends via the Internet since then.

I will be sorry, however, to leave this beautiful Arizona desert where my daughter, Trish, lives. During my three-week visit here, we have both done some healing. Trish from some physical ailments and me from the emotional stress of losing my beloved dog, Maggie, and then her replacement just eight days later.

I’m finally to the point of thinking again about getting another dog. I will be getting back on the road in my RV shortly after the conference ends, and the thought of traveling without a canine companion is mind boggling.

And each variety of cactus I saw had its own unique beauty. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Just in case anyone in the Austin or the Dallas areas of Texas might know of a dog that needs a lot of love and spoiling, I’m looking for a one to three–old, 20 to 25 pound, female that loves walks, cuddling and car rides.

Bean’s Pat: Life in the Bogs http://tinyurl.com/6lw7u9hAn armchair trip through Amish Country, and great flowers, too