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Treking in the woods.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

School Day!


Watching my granddaughters getting excited for their first day back to school sure brings back a lot of school memories. Not necessarily the first day but special days. In my day the olden day we were not allowed to wear pants or shorts to school. Just dresses and skirts, so much has changed and for the better I might add. In the winter we did not have what you would call snow boots but those rubber kind you slipped over your shoes. Overshoes I believe they were called! HEE HEE! Anyway durning the cold or the wet time of year I would have given anything to own a pair of knee high socks, tights or leggings. Those darn ol rubber boats always chapped the leg so bad. Especially on the inside of the leg. I hated those things! We would go out and play in the snow at home but we always had either several layers of pants on or were lucky enough to have a snow suit. Still very cold even then.
When I was in 4th grade we had a class program we got to participate in if we chose. I always had what I thought was a fair voice so I chose to sing a song while a school mate, Barry Bradshaw played the guitar. We chose Swing Low Sweet Chariot. I had forgotten the day we were going to do it so when I got to school and found out it was that day I was frantically asking the teacher if I could call my mom so she could bring the dress I had chosen, my fancy frilly Easter dress, the only frilly one I owned. She brought it with just minutes to spare, helped me dress in the girls room, combed my hair then watched I as sang a not so loud song. I can't even tell you if any one clapped. I was so scared and nervous.
President Kennedy was killed that year. It was such a sad time. We got to vote at school and I did not vote for him but for Barry Goldwater. We got out of school the day of his funeral and we all watched at home. I can still see the black and white picture of John John saluting his fathers coffin as it went by.
We got to watch from school when the first space ship landed on the moon. We got to stay home from school when the snow piled up to deep to get out of our lane. We ate wonderful hot lunches everyday. Made fresh right there in the kitchen at the school. Mom was a school lunch cook for a couple of years and I loved it when I was sick because I got to with her and watch while she worked as I sat perched on a high stool. I remember getting out of school for what was called East End Day at the Twin Falls County Fair and Rodeo. Boy o Boy that was some fun. The fair was the best. The fair grounds are located in Filer just west of Twin by just a few miles. Our church we went to, The First Baptist Church, always had a booth there that Mom and Dad worked at. We got to go hang around all day and see everything at least two or three times. The fair still goes on today and we plan to take a trip down there just to see what old friends we can run into. I will take my camera and post some pictures. All the animals are in different barns, the merchants have their own space. There is a huge agriculture barn as several for 4-Hr's. The rodeo is always on the national circuit and lots of fun to watch. The carnival is a local one that spends most of its time in Arizona. The food is marvelous and I can't wait to walk back down that memory lane.
Tomorrow as my little girls head to school I hope they write on their memories some of their firsts and keep them for all time. Such a precious gift our memories.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Animals of the past!

Lucy just reminded me of the longevity of animals we have at our house. Mom had this little Boston Terrier named Sox. He was more my dog than anyone elses. He slept with me on the top bunk and hated for me to leave him anywhere. He was killed not too long after Richard and I got married and after Mom had moved to Oregon. We sure loved that crazy dog. You didn't dare leave a beverage on the floor because he would have his little short nose pushed in as far as it would go. One New Years Eve before Richard and I were married he, Richard, was over at the house helping us usher in the New Year. Dad had mixed him a drink, a Screwdriver, to be exact. Richard was laying on the living room floor watching TV. He was not paying the slightest attention to Sox who was busy slurpping up his drink. Needless to say the dog had an obvious headache the next morning. He was the first of many in a too long of a line. We have longevity at our house so there is no need for a bunch.
With kids came many varieties of pets. We had another dog named Peanuts. I was with my Dad in the truck coming back from Utah and found her on the side of the road. She was a sweet little thing and lived to be a ripe old age. Then came Holly, her we got a little 6 week old puppy. Just a ball of fur that couldn't get up and down a step she was so short. Holly came into our lives just about the time my Sis Connie had her second child. When Holly Gayle was born Erin asked if Aunt Connie had a puppy to because the names were the same. Holly was around of more than 15 years. In those years we did have a lizard named Lionel that belonged to Jason, Emery had one named Richey. Both lizards lived a very long full life. Lionel actually died of old age. We had him for almost 4 years. The vet told us that just didn't happen in captivity.
Erin and Jason both had rabbits. Erin's was a dwarf Netherlands named Coco. He looked very much like a Siamese cat. Jason got a mini lop ear. Buuuuuuttttt!
He was not so mini! Nor was he so lopped! He had one ear that refused to stay down and he weighed in at about 8 lbs. good size for a rabbit. His name was Chewie. They were very nice rabbits. They loved to be petted and held. Chewie had a tooth problem. He needed orthodonture because his front teeth did not meet to keep them ground down. We took him to the vet every couple of weeks to get his teeth clipped. He did not do well with any of that and died after a couple of months of the treatments. Coco died of a kidney problem just a month or so after Chewie. We had them both for more than 5 years.
They had gerbils, no names on them, I made them take them back where they bought them because they were having babies and Mom was not a happy camper. Erin had an American Red Guinnie Pig named Rose Bud. Boy was she a pain. Erin used to put her cage in the living room at night because Rose Bud loved to rattle it all night long.
Jason and Erin both had hamsters. Jodie, Connie's oldest daughter came to visit for a few weeks one summer and loved them so much I bought her one. We put it in it's little box to transport back home. When we got to Chickahomny Resv. near Burns Oregon the hamster was not in its box. Her name was Peaches, and she had chewed her way out of that box. We were sure she was gone for good having fallen out of the truck somewhere along the way. The next morning she reappeared in the cab of the truck with her little bitty feet singed. She had crawled into the heater where it was hot. She proceeded home with no further trouble.
Erin also go a dog. Jason had taken her to the Humane Society and they together because Erin was not of age to get one on her own picked out the cutest black and white puppy. Richard was livid. He did not want a second dog and especially one that was as hard headed as that one was. The only way Erin could keep her was to let her dad give her a name. Hence she became Soxie. She was a good sized Border Collie that after some 4-H training turned out to be the most wonderful dog. Growing up she was a constant companion to Richard when Erin was not around. When building a shed, Richard had to constantly find his pencil, his hammer, his screw nails and what ever else Soxie would pack off. Soxie lived to be a very old dog much loved by Erin, Tommy, Isabelle, Lainey, Richard, myself, Jason, Christy, Sam and Christian. She had a partner in a small terrier type dog named Rot. He was docile and played no stop with Soxie. Erin lost them both not that many years ago and miss them to this day.
I already told you about the dogs and cat Erin now has but I forgot to mention the animals that Jason and his family have. When they moved to Minnesota they took with them a Beagle type dog named Gabby. Christy got her from the pound and had no idea how old she really was. They also had a cat named Gidgett. She came from a farmer who Jason had sold a lot of expensive equipment to when he worked for Campbell Tractor. They also had a stray cat named Teaka. She was kind of looney. Had some problems in her sinuses that made her act goofy. Ja has been in Minn. for almost 4 years. They lost Teaka when they first moved, just recently lost Gabby and still have Gidgett plus a little Yorkie named Bosley. He is the ruler of the roost. Samuel and Christian have also had a variety of other critters, lizards, hamsters, and rats. I hope we all live as long as our animals seem to. I am fairly certain when our Dolly dog is gone she will be the last. To hard to travel when you have a dog to take care of all the time. I love dogs and love this cat but I think I am done. They just hang around much to long.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Cats and dogs!





Richard and I were sitting in our favorite place this morning enjoying the early morning cool, buzz of bees and our critters!
TC is our cat! She is a Maine Coon cross with ummmmmm, I don't know, but anyway she is fierce and mighty hunter in the back yard. She is only allowed outside in only in the back yard when one of us is out there. Needless to say her antics are very entertaining. Not to long ago she was all hunched up just waiting to spring on a poor hapless bee. Unfortunately for TC the bee was not as cooperative as she would have liked and became very indignant when she got stung in the foot. She nursed a swollen paw for several days after that. Evidently it did not dampen her love of the chase. For this morning she was at it again. Stalking ever so slowly and springing on her helpless prey. This time she was rewarded with a tasty little snack, a bee, yuck! She had her revenge. TC roams the confines of our back yard and is such a scareddy cat she gets up on the 6 ft. fence then has to have help to get down. The squirrels are safe from her marauding presence.
Dolly is our 9 year old buff colored pekinese dog. She has a very pug face. Jason calls her pig dog but we love her. She has a bad back from a jump off the bed and moves slower than she used to. She does get wound up sometimes when TC bops her on the head with a paw. Then the chase is on. Should see them tear up and down the hall and round and round. Sometimes TC jumps on her cat tree and just watches Dolly chase the phantom cat. It is very comical. Dolly also loves her toys. All of them have to have squeakers in them to really be fun. All her toys are kept in a tub behind Richard's chair and she is very good at dragging them all out. I have yet to teach her how to put them all back. Her favorite is a pink and purple butterfly she uses as a pillow. Such a funny sight.
Our house has one other resident as of late. It is a tiny amphibious frog. They need no land so it is very much like having a fish. Samuel won two the the things at the Cherry Festival in his old home town of Emmett. His mom called the airlines trying to find a way for the critter to go home with them. As you have guessed she was told no several times over. Such a bummer for Sam. Anyway the little guy is thriving in our care. He has grown and get fresh water every few days. The best kind of pet to have. Makes no noise, doesn't need to be petted, fed only a pellet or two a day and makes no messes on the floor.
Our family is not pet poor. Erin has two dogs, Gracie a Rat Terrier, Teia a pekinese sibling to Dolly, and a stray cat named Daisy.
Tommy has a very large guy named Payton. A one hundred and fifty pound Giant Great Dane. That dog has no clue how big he is or how strong he is. He really believes he can sit on your lap and fit. UUUUGGGG! HUGE!!!!!!!!
Each one loved, each one cared for, each one very unique. Can't imagine our lives without pets.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

GrandDaughters!

Sitting on the patio watching my beautiful young granddaughters play in the wading pool brings back so many childhood memories I scarcely know where to start!
Growing up on a farm had some real advantages. We had a pond down the drive lane from our house that was not very deep but one we were not allowed to swim in. When I got older I found out why I didn't get to swim in it, in the fact that it was just run off water from the fields above it. Not something one should be swimming in. We were however allowed to wade along the edges of it. I remember one late spring Carol, Teri and I spent one whole day catching pollywogs in that pond. We would tote them up to the house and put them in a big galvanized wash tub. We had every intention of watching all of them change into frogs. Now mind you they were in every stage of changing already. Some had one leg, some two, and so on and so on. When Mom came out of the house to check on our play that put a halt to our up close and personal relationship with the pollywogs. We had to tote them all back to that pond.
There was a raft like things sitting near the pond. I think some of the boys that lived over in the next section used it on the pond. Their Dad owned the land we lived on and farmed. I don't remember them ever being on the raft but the reason that it is in my memory bank because it was a great place to stand on, to get away from the water snakes that also liked the pond. I hate snakes to this day. Not because they slither or are ugly or anything like that but because they always had a way of sneaking up on a person when they least expected it.
One place we could swim in was the canal. We could only go if Dad or Mom were with us and then only in certain places. The water moves pretty fast through in most places but some were very slow. A very good place to cool off.
Another body of water that we all liked to play in and this time it includes Connie and Lucy was the Perrine Coolie. It was located down the hay field from our house out on what was called the truck route north of Twin Falls. The coolie was a wonderful cool and shady place to play. Sometimes Mom would let us take a lunch and a blanket to have a picnic. We always tried to walk on the rocks because Mom always told us their were leaches in the water. I to this day can not tell you if it were true but it did the trick in keeping us out of the water. We had the occasional slip of the foot off a rock that netted us a wet shoe. That was one place we never went bare footed. We could walk the length of the coolie from the road clear to the canyon rim. Seemed like a long way at the time but it was not as far as I remember as a kid. There were some downed tress and lots of rocks to climb and play on. I loved playing there as did all us kids.
When we moved into town. We lived not to far from the Rock Creek Canyon. That was a place we were not ever suppose to go. Welllllll you know as well as I do when you are told absolutely not to go there. It was like an open invitation to explore. It is not a deep canyon like the Snake River Canyon but more like a wide ravine filled with stinging nettle, bull thistle, sour dock, and many other perils to ourselves. We only chanced going down in there when we were at home alone. Mom worked and Dad drove truck so we took care of ourselves much of the time. I was in Jr. High them so leading Connie, Lucy and Teri into trouble was my speciality but keeping us from getting caught was not to awfully hard. We never made it to the water in that canyon just too many very tall and unforgiving weeds to deal with. It was a fun climb down in there to say the least.
I guess you could say after that we got sophisticated and started using a public pool. Now what fun was that? Also took swimming lessons after that to. Keeping cool no matter where it was ranked number one when it was the hot dog days of summer. I miss them days!!!!!!!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The true meaning of friends!

I am catching well deserved flak from little sis Lucy about not keeping up with my blog. Suffice it to say I have been away. Richard and I spent the weekend at our one of our favorite places Lucky Peak Lake! We had an Coast Guard Auxiliary function on Sunday so we needed to be there for the festivities. The weather was okay! Too cool to sit in the shade and too hot to sit in the sun. Very breezy and unseasonably cool for what should be hot August nights.
I had a scare on Thursday and really got a good lesson in friendship and knowing ones own body. I was home alone when I started feeling bad. I had been on the computer writing my last blog. I was beginning to think it was from the way I was sitting. I shut it down and went to relax in my chair. The pain in my chest and back just kept getting worse. I waited almost 90 minutes before I came to the conclusion the pain was not going to go away on its own and I may very well be having a heart problem. Checked my blood pressure and it was way higher than it should be. The bottom number was over 100. Okay so now I am really scared. I called my good friend Chris because Richard was at the lake waiting for me, Erin was a work and I didn't think I could stand long enough to find her work number in my purse. Guess I really should put it my cell phone. I called my son in law, although he and Erin are no longer married to call her. He did just that. She called my cell phone just about the time Chris got to my house. Erin had her give me an aspirin then had her look in the fridg where Richard keeps his nitro tabs cause he has had 2 heart attacks. She found it gave it to me then called 911. All it did was give me an amazing headache. The paramedics got there checked me out and hauled to the ER at St. Al's. I spent 5 hours in the ER. Tommy bless his heart went to Lucky Peak, found the Park Ranger another friend of our Serrat Nichols and had him call Richard on the VHF radio. Where Richard was camped he could not hear Serrat very well so another friend of ours, Ron Fritz, that was up there relayed messages back and forth to get him into the Marina. Tommy brought him home as by that time I was home also. Chris and Erin stayed at the hospital with me until I was cleared to go home. Chris went home and Erin brought me home. Don't think it was my heart after all but an ulcer caused from all the drugs I take to keep my lupus, blood pressure, my colesteral, and my arthritis at bay. Imagine that!!! LOL!!!! Anyway I am scheduled for a nuclear stress test tomorrow. Will have an endoscopy along with a colonoscopy in early September. Pray that nothing happens again like that. Not at all fun.
My friends and my family were there for me every step of the way. I value each and every one of them and thank God they are in my life and care enough about me to be there for me. I will be there for them should the need ever arise. God willing the need will never come. I want to say a big thanks to everyone who loves me and cares for me. You are truly appreciated and a huge influence in my life. Thank You!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Grandsons!



What a wonderful thing Grandsons! Having Samuel and Christian here for 6 weeks was a true delight. I forgot how adolescent boys smell. Whew! Not that it is bad just so full of masculine testosterone.
I remember when they lived here and were so small. Sam is now a couple of inches taller than my 5"3" frame. Christian is getting there. We used to spend time up at Lucky Peak with the whole family. The boys always found delight in jumping off the boat into the water. Their Dad Jason was always right along with them. As you have no doubt looked at the pictures of our boat it is impressive that they would jump from the fly bridge. I was always awed by their lack of fear.
Our friends Larry and Patti Rose have spent a good number of years at the lake also. One particular weekend Jason and his family were there playing in the water and having a good time. Larry and Patti have an old Chocolate Lab named Max. Max is an icon unto himself. He was a mighty swimmer at one time and loved to spend hours in the water. On this particular occasion when the boys were there and we were sharing a dock with the Rose's, Max took a particular liking to Christian. Christian wears glasses and with out them seeing is not very easy. Swimming without them is difficult be he manages just fine. Max must have sensed Christians difficulty because every time Christian got into the water Max went after him. Sometimes it was okay with Christian but other times he was not ready to go to shore. Max would gently grab an arm in his mouth and try to drag Christian to shore with him. It was amazing to see the gentleness in that dog. He was quite the life saver, even when the life didn't need saving. Sad to say Max is showing his age. He no longer can come to the lake and play. Arthritis has taken a toll on his ability to get around. I will alway remember Max as a young go get um dog.
I wrote this poem for Max back in August of 2008!
AN ODE TO MAX
To be ninety three we do aspire
with grace and dignity and hearts all afire.
you faced your life with courage not strife.
To Larry, Patti, and Brenna you came
a loving home was never the same.
The care you received you never deceived,
a tribute to life and love you received.

THE REST OF MY LIFE
Being born you begin only to age
each and every day a brand new page.
Filled with hope, filled with love,
just like all the stars up above.
A baby, a girl, a teen, a wife,
a mom, and a grandma
wow what a life!

Through good times and bad
through happy and sad
it's life in a nut shell
with so many stories yet to tell.

How do you say how you feel?
When some of it doesn't seem real!
The love, the care, the tender touch,
all worth while when in love so much!

EVERY DAY
To wake in the morning
look it square in the face
good to be alive
not just taking up space
to thrive and strive
in every way
live, laugh, face the day!

PEACE
To find the place of peacefulness
you must dig deep into emptiness
put a face, a color, a shape
onto the feeling, the only escape
go back to do what you can do
to make it right to make it through
a whisper of hope tried and true
hands of love, make white which is blue!

WHY I WRITE
To take a pen to paper
and write my every thought
I have to be inspired
but sometimes not a lot
I write about the people
who grace my very life
I write about a happening
or about being a wife
I jot down a yearning
or a place I want to go
but mostly what moves me
to my very soul.


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Old Houses!




On our recent trip to Nebraska we had the opportunity to take a short trip down memory lane while we were picking Teri up in Twin Falls. All of us girls were born there. Connie and Lucy moved away before they were teenagers. We took a very small bit of time to go see some of the places we used to live and frequent as kids. One of the pictures is a place called Mama T's. In our day it was called Blake's Big T. It was the local swimming pool close to where we lived. It was in the shape of a large T. It is no longer there but they play miniature gold there instead. Anyway you ever notice how small something appears when you get to be an adult. Can't imagine the pool would hold very many of us and it never seemed crowded.
There was also a park not to far from our house called Harry Barry Park. It also had a swimming pool and it is no longer there. That pool was not as nice as the other one but it was still a great place to get cool when it was hot.
The house we lived in had a ton of trees around it. Some of the trees are gone but the pines that were so small Connie could jump over it and she was only 12 have reached 30 to 40 feet. I guess if I stop and think about how long ago that was I really should not surprise me. We had a bing cherry tree, a peachcot tree, a sour cherry tree, and many elms as well as bushes. The house was less than 1000 sq. feet and never seemed crowded.
The yard was huge and Mom always planted a big garden that we harvested and canned to get us through the winter. Mom still plants a garden to this day. Connie, Lucy and myself have followed in her foot steps. Mom's thumb is certainly green for both indoor and outdoor plants. I have no luck with the indoor ones. The only ones a can't kill are the ones made of silk. They look good and required no water. YEAH! I do have to tell you about a couple rows of spuds Mom planted some years ago. The rows looked great when they went in but when the plants came up part of one row was missing. Seems part of one row had been planted into the first row. Some where in the pictures we have there is one of that. I will have to see if I can locate it and post for all to see.
The other house that is one of my fondest is the first house Richard and I shared as husband and wife. Wow! Not that it was great or anything but it was an adventure. The first winter there was a cold one. The house did not come equipped with a furnace or heater, imagine that, we had to provide our own. My Dad had an old Segler oil stove he let us use. It was located in the living room. The whole house had 9 foot ceiling and as we all know heat rises. The house did have an oil barrel on the north side of it, but we were so young we couldn't get the local oil company to deliver us a barrel full. It was only 50 gal. and the price was only about .20 cents a gallon but when you only bring home $70.00 every two weeks they were just not willing to give us their trust. We used a 5 gal. can to fill the barrel up. One really cold and windy night we ran out of oil. We made the 6 mile trip into town, filled the 5 gallon can then home we went. I got to hold the funnel, which was the outside of an old head light. It worked great when the wind wasn't blowing but this particular night the wind was howling from the north. I got to hold the funnel, all the while Richard was pouring I was getting a steady stream of #2 diesel fuel down the sleeves of my coat. Not to pleasant an experience. We laughed about it for a long time. Laughed more about that little house. The warmest place in it was in the bathroom after you filled the tub with hot water. We used a heating pad to warm our bed up and slept in long john under. Not very romantic for someone who had been married less than 6 months. We did have fun out there. Even when we got snowed in, or when the water pipes froze. They never froze in the house but out in the drive area. Our land lord would bring me a milk can full of water. Dig a hole in the ground to the pipe. Hook his portable welder to it and spend several hours thawing the pipe. Summer found us surrounded by beet fields, wheat fields and corn fields. Those were the days.
I love old memories. It is was we are all made of. Makes us who we are, shapes the way we behave and gives us roots. The memories we forge now will do the same for our children and grandchildren. Life past was good, life present is fabulous, live future full of promise and mystery. Go out and make a memory every chance you get. They are so worth it.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Misadventures!



Over the weekend I had to opportunity to tune out the world of cars, t.v., phone and all those other things that get in the way of hearing nature at it's best. Richard and I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday up at Lucky Peak on the boat. What better way to commune with nature than to sit in the rain and listen to the world around you. For once all was quiet up there. Usually when it is hot there are a whole bunch of people around boats, skis, jet skis, wake boards, tubes, and on and on. I actually liked the rain. Kept everyone but us hardy few from the lake. We watched a large family of Merganziers fishing along the shore line then one by one hop on a dock across from where we sat to preen and clean their feathers in a pouring rain. One little guy had a particularly hard time hopping up on the dock. These docks sit about 8 to 12 inches out of the water. Anyway we kept encouraging him as we watched from in side the cabin of our boat when he finally made it we found out what his difficulty was, he has a lame foot. Most likely he will not last long enough to fly off with the flock, but he took just as much time with his grooming as the others did. The wild life up there has always been a source of wonder and awe to me. I love just to sit and watch ants at work in their own environment. One evening last year I was sitting on the fly bridge of the boat, that is the upper deck, reading a Plum novel with a nifty book light I just bought when I heard a thwanggg just above my head. Where we dock our boat is know to be frequented by bats. Evidently a bat got a little whacked out by my light and hit our vhf radio antenna. I never did hear a splash so he must have been okay. Who says they such good night fliers.
A couple of weeks ago in the same spot we were sitting with some friends of ours Larry and Patty Rose just enjoying the shade and the conversation when we spied a little brownish gray lizard. He scampered across the ground and up a tree. Larry had his chair positioned not to far from that particular tree. The lizard went up the tree just to about 6 inches above Larry's head. Larry had on a nice purple hat with gold lettering. That lizard seemed to be fascinated by the hat. We all told Larry about his admirer, who appeared to be doing pushups in preparation for a leap on to that hat. Larry said "the only thing he was going to get was a flying lesson". That lizard sat there a long time eyeing that hat.
Isabelle and Lainey were up there with us not long ago when it was really hot. We spent a lot of time in the water just trying to stay cool. The girls kept busy playing and splashing around. They finally decided it was lunch time, so we took time to eat a bite. After we ate they sat in the sun to get warmed up and their Grandpa fished and they watched. Low and behold he caught a small mouth bass. Not large enough to keep but fun for the girls to watch get closer to the boat. All was well until they decided it was time to go in the water again. All of a sudden Lainey got nervous about the fish in the water. She was convinced they were going to come up and bite her. To Isabelle's credit she did a fantastic job of reassuring Lainey that the fish were gone and that they had no teeth. Lainey finally got back in the water and was having so much fun she just forgot about the fish.
From many birds, water fowl, insects, bats, and more we enjoy just being in nature and close to the work of God. Such a sweet place to see his handy work up close and personal.
Heres to good times on and off the water. Love to all.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Resignation!!!!


Dad is alone now! Carol and Cecil were there until early today when they headed for home. Dad has made it increasingly difficult for his family to be there. The one wish he want is one we can not get for him. To go home! He has to use a walker, he is unable to cook for himself, as if he did that very much anyway. He would forget to take his meds and his house is not in any kind of shape to handle a walker. He has a drop off on either side of his living room of over 3 ft. Stairs into the house that have no railing, only a tub and no shower. He is unable to lift his legs high enough to get in the tub anymore. My heart breaks that I am unable to give him what he wants but it is what it is. I suggested he come to the Boise Vet's home and at first he said sure. When it came to sign the papers he said no. He just wants to go home. He is afraid if he gets to Boise I would not get him back to Nebraska to bury him. Hard to take that a parent does not trust you to do what he has asked. I will get over it, I love him regardless. The nursing staff at the nursing home, Bryan Hospital, and the social workers have all agreed that he is not capable of going home. He would have to have live in help and that is so costly with no one to help pay for it. It really comes down to money. If I was able to help him in the financial department I would but when you live on what your retirement brings in which is just enough for ourselves it is tough. I canceled his stint replacement today. I did it only after a lot of soul searching and praying. I believe I did the right thing. With everything we know about his condition having the stint is not going to make a big difference. If by having the stint replaced would give him a better life by all means I would do it in a heart beat. That is not the case however, even the chance of him coming out of from under after surgery are slim. It was difficult the first time they did it in June. God knows I want only what is best for him and I feel God wants him to come home to him. Dad is just not ready in his heart. His body says yes his mind says no! Pray with us and lend us your support of your hearts and your love.
My little Sister Lucy has been a rock for me in recent weeks. I sure wish we did not live so far away from each other. We text all the time and I love it. She loves to scrap book and I love to quilt. Sorta the same kind of thing. Got her hooked on the Plum novels, can't wait to send her the ones I have here. She will have her nose buried in a book and I will get to hear what she thinks. One think you do not want to do when reading the Plum books is drink any thing. You stand a good chance of blowing the beverage out your nose. You just never know when something funny will happen.
My two little Granddaughters spent the night last night. Early this morning we had a big thunder storm roll through here. Big big clap of thunder shook the whole house and chased both girls into bed with Grandpa and me. Lainey is like her mom when she was a girl, all elbows and knees in places that really hurt. Izzy likes to talk when she is waking up. It was fun to lay there with the little ones listening to the rain and thunder off the foot hills. Best way to wake up.
Have a great night all and much love to all of you!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Trials and Tribulations of boating!



Richard and I have been boating for more years than I really care to think about. We have had a slip at Spring Shores Marina for many years. We started with a 21 ft. Bayliner and now have a 24.5 ft. Bayliner with a fly bridge. I really like the bigger boat because it has the one thing on the other one didn't. A head, or in land lubber terms a toilet. Hey when you spend 2 weeks in 21 ft. of space and there are three of you and all you have is a porta pottie you would understand my joy with the head. Richard, Erin and I spent almost 2 weeks in the San Jauns Islands on that 21 ft. boat. We had a wonderful time where ever we went. I would have given my eye teeth for a stand up head at any point in time through that trip but never as much as the middle of the night when I had to crawl out of a small berth over Richard to try and find the porta pottie that we had to take out of it's perch every night. What a pain in the neck! Literally! Originally the pot was located under a cushion in the berth. To use it one had to move the cover off, this is accomplished by only bending over due to no head room. Once the cover is removed and the lid of the pot lifted, one turned around close a very small door that heaven for bid you should have long legs cause there was no way you were going to get the door closed. If you did succeed in getting it closed one had to wrangle down the pants in order to sit and do the business. One could never sit upright just not enough head room. What a walk through frustration. Some years ago Richard and I happened to do a Safety Patrol on Lake Washington for Sea Fair. We had a Coast Guard Reservist on board and the first time he asked about the facilities I casually asked him if he had ever peed on his knees? The look I got from him was one of total confusion and amazement at my innocent question. Richard and both burst out laughing realizing what it was I had said. I should have asked have you ever had to use the head while kneeling? He finally saw the humor in my question and we explained about the head. For guys it was always I real trial to go through the moves in order to relieve themselves. Now you know why I love our 24.5 ft. boat with it's stand up head. Still a bit short for the tall guys but it works just great for me.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Oregon Slugs!


I'm not sure any of my sisters will remember this particular incident but the topic of a little nuisance critter in Oregon came up tonight after a nice dinner with Chris our friend.
Connie was getting married! That in it's self was really cool but she was going one even better and getting married on the back deck where they lived. The place was at that time called "Bear Creek Lodge" it was at one time a favorite place for fisherman to stay and eat at the restaurant that was on the front of the place. The restaurant and lodging facilities has long since been closed up and it served as my mom, step dad, and little sisters home. On the day of the wedding, which was held in September, my mom was out in the yard making sure that there were no slugs on the deck. Wellllll! She had help in finding these often very large and always very slimy critters. Three little grand sons, Emery about 5, Jason and David were about 3, they were busy helping Grandma find the slugs. The boys would have no part in picking them up and putting them in the can but they would scramble around finding them for Grandma. Each would screech in joy every time she would pick up the one they had found. Not only did Mom get them all off the deck and the immediate lawn area but much more area that was far beyond necessary. Mom never said a word she just went about making them three very happy, very proud little boys. Buuuuttt! The bad thing about slugs is the slim they leave. It is very hard to wash off and Mom had a wedding she was hosting. Yuckkky stuff! She had a heck of a time washing that abundance of slim off her hands before the ceremony began. It didn't matter to her because she had made those 3 boys so very happy that every day after that they wanted Grandma to go pick up the slugs they would find.

Our Friend Chris!


Richard and met Chris seems like yesterday when it was really a few years ago. We were in the habit of going to our local Shari's for breakfast on Saturday mornings. We loved these times together, they were quiet and we really connected. When you get in the habit of going to the same place and sit at the same table all the time the wait staff get to know your face. On one such occasion the restaurant was having a contest to see how many patrons names they could get. I can reliably say this was the beginning of the end. Chris happened to be our waitress that particular morning. I already knew her name by her tag, we introduced ourselves shook hands, which was the one and only time we ever did that, and we were off. Chris had been through some really rough times. Our restaurant friendship continued for a few months. As we got more familiar with each other we began giving hugs. Any one who knows me that I am a very open hugger. I truly believe in the power of a hug. Makes you feel loved, cared about and truly valued. Getting close to New Years Eve we asked her to join our family in a night of dinner, games and watching the ball drop at Time Square. She came over just a wee bit apprehensive and left way after midnight a friend for life. She has become our fast friend and a call her little sis. From the girl time we have together to just chatting on the phone I am truly blessed to have Chris in my life.

My friend Chris!

That is a story all in its own. When I have a few minutes I will tell you all about her!

Monday, August 3, 2009

The Plum Stories,

You are not gona believe the newest book! Finger licken Fifteen. Grandma Mazuer and all her old cronies in the neighbor are mad at the lady who turned in the guy who had a penchant for showing his "winkie" to all of them. The one who turned him in did so because he missed her one day. To To funny.

Sunday, August 2, 2009


Considering the latest trip I took with my 3 sisters I was thinking about the last time all of us sisters went on a vacation together. It wasn't just us sisters however. Dad and Mom, Carol flew out here from Florida bringing with her baby Kemp, I was engaged to Richard and he of course had to go along. Then there was Teri, Connie and Lucy. We were headed for Spokane Washington via where the road took us. One of our first stops along the way mind you we started in Twin Falls. Guess I should tell you how we traveled. Well we had a big old blue Chevy station wagon. Full bench seat in the front the sat three, full bench seat in the back that would seat four kids or one adult and three kids then you had the very back now that was the place to ride. All of this was before seat belts and car chairs for babies became the rage. So if you count how many of us were in the car whew there were 4 adults, 2 teenagers ( me and Teri) and 3 children, NINE of us. Funny thing was the car never seemed crowded. We all took our turn riding in the very back including Richard who is 6 ft. 3 in. tall. Richard helped Dad drive and then of course I got to sit in the front seat next to him. We were engaged after all. Okay back to the story. Our first stop was along the Payette River. Dad was the only one who had seen it before and we thought it was a wonderous sight. Oh I forgot to mention Sox our Boston Terrier was with us. As we all stood watching the river roar by Sox wanting to get a drink stepped on a rock and it tipped and ya you got it he slid into the river. The rocks were slippery and he was moving down steam fast. Fortunately Richard was standing just down from him and with a scoop of Sox's harness grabbed him from the river. One major accident avoided. We spent the night along the banks of a river near Ellensburg Washington. I can't begin to tell you where we all slept because putting nine people including one little boy down to sleep was my Moms thing. I know the dog slept with me as he always did and I slept as near to Richard as I dared with out getting yelled at by Mom. That vacation was spent touring the sights on the way to Spokane, such as Mt Rainier, the stops on the Lewis and Clark Trail and so on. But to me the most memorable thing actually two most memorable things were first was Lucy, I swear the girl had the bladder the size of a walnut. Every time we passed a rest area is was I gotta go. We were making no time with the constant stopping. On one such occasion Mom told her if she didn't stop she was gona end up in the garbage can. There were lots of them along the road back then. Anyway she did it again. 30 minutes from the last stop "I gota pee, Richard". Richard swerved into the next trash can. Lucy was able to hold it after that. The other thing was us kids got to stay in our first ever motel room. We were in Seaside Oregon and Mom and Dad treated us to a night in a real bed. We had a room that had a kitchenette, way cool to someone who had never seen one before, and it was located right on the beach. The only thing that separated us from the Pacific Ocean was a low stone wall. I was very impressed by that hotel. The wonder through a young persons eyes is truly a wonder to behold.
I loved that trip. We got to see old friends that had moved away. I state I had never been in. The Pacific Ocean for the first time. Mt. Ranier totally awesome. But most of all spending a wonderful vacation with family. Mom and Dad were divorced not long after that. I married Richard while I was still in high school because of the divorce. Mom, Connie and Lucy moved to Oregon. Teri married and was on her own in Twin Falls. Carol and Kemp went back to Flordia and have been back many times. We had a great time! That is one space of time in my life I wish I could repeat.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

It's Late and should be sleeping!

It is getting late but due to my over looking when one of my meds got low a failed to take it in I am unable to sit and watch TV so here I am at this computer writing yet again about some of the things we did growing up.
We had the coolest wagon when we were growing up. It wasn't that it was anything special but it was brown and pulled real easy and we had more fun trekking across the United States with out ever leaving our own yard. Mom would let us take blankets and pillows from the house and of course the essentials when you are going on a wagon train. From one spot in the yard to the next we would make camp. Use a weed, that when dry looked a lot like coffee grounds, to make our morning and evening brew. Pile sticks which we packed with us in the wagon from place to place. We could pretend a feast fit for a king or a simple lunch. Teri, Connie, Lucy and I spent many happy hours camping our way across the yard. Our wagon never failed us, never broke down and the puller didn't need a harness. What a fun time we had! I sometimes long for that much simpler time in life when all you have to worry about is when school is out for the summer and how long is it till Christmas. Our lives were simple, slow, full of love and fun.
I have so many things that are running through my head it is sometimes hard to remember what I have said. I can see Lucy sitting in a very small ditch with a little boy named Danny. Both were in diapers and both were covered with mud. I see us taking special care of the piece of window screen Dad gave us to use when we made mud pies because if you sifted the dirt first is was fine with no clods, awesome piece of equipment of have. Richard would save part of his lunch for Connie and Lucy when were dating. I was still in school and dating a man who had been out of school for a while and had recently gotten back from basic training for the National Guard. He still lived at home and yes his mom still fixed his lunches. They were usually always so big that he couldn't or wouldn't eat it all. When he came to visit me after he got off work he always brought his lunch pail in the house with him. Those two little sisters of mine would attack his lunch pail as if they were starving. He always left them something even the smallest thing made them happy.
I thank God everyday for my family, kids, grandkids, sisters, mom, dad, and even the extended ones. I am truly blessed to have you all in my life.