I recently had the opportunity to go to a Coast Guard Auxiliary school in Joliet, Ill. It was a great class and I learned a lot about data entry into AUXDATA! I met lots of people from all over the country. I enjoyed all the conversation and hearing about other auxiliarists families and auxiliary lives. There are a lot of varied ages and personalities. I was really happy to see a very large group of younger people.
Jason and Samuel came to pick me up in Joliet, from their home in St. Charles, Minnesota. The trip thru the Chicago area was quite a trip. The traffic was what I would call thick for a Sunday and Ja was running low on gas. We finally got rid of the heavy traffic, got out of the construction and found a gas station. When we stopped for gas we all climbed out of the pickup. I went inside to use the restroom and Jason filled the gas tank. We all climbed back in and took off once again. Jason figured the gas milage and asked how much it cost. I told him "I don't know I thougt you used your card". He said "I don't have a card", "Didn't you pay for it?" We both said oh no we are a drive away. We turned around as quick as we could and went back. When I got up to the counter after a long line I told the gal what had happened and she was very grateful we were so honest. Honesty is the best policy after all. What kind of example would be set for a teenager if we just kept driving. We took we paid for it. The rest of the trip was very uneventful. It was nice to get to St. Charles.
I am now in Minnesota at my son's house and getting ready to go to Nebraska to finish up my Dads estate. I do not look forward to this chore as it makes it all to real. I pray it will all go easy and uneventful.
My husband has been mopping around about being alone. The other day he was asking me about a shrimp salad that I made last week. I told him to just throw it away but he thought he might try it out. I told him if he wanted me to find him on the floor dead when I get home to go ahead but Iwould not feel sorry for him. He is such a goof ball. He keeps texting me as he is spending so much time with just the cat and dog to talk to. Sadly to say the do not answer very well. By the time I get home I may need to peel him off the ceiling.
I am waiting anxiously for the weather to feel like it is spring time and warm enough and dry enough to dig the garden and plant some flowers. We are going to re do the front lawn. New grass, sprinkler system, new landscape. We are taking out the pine trees, the abrovita and who knows what else.
It is exciting to know that soon my front yard will look brand new and fresh and beautiful. I will have to get before and after pictures so I can post them.
Good night to all and smooth sailing to all.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Spring! Who said it was sprin?
I think it should be illegal to predict snow in April. If I thought it would do any good I would string up the weather man and throw snow balls at him or her!
Things are good at this house. My annual cardiac visit was good. BP was right where it should be, my EKG was as normal as they get, and if all goes well my blood test will be a okay also.
I have to relay to you the most unique way I have ever seen to have a baby tooth pulled. Richard and I stopped over at Erin's to have coffee and say Hi! It was Wednesday morning and the girls were home on spring break. I had enjoyed my first cup of coffee and much laughter and conversation when the call of nature came in loud and clear. For any of you who are grandparents you know that when Grandkids are around you can not go to the bathroom by yourself. Lainey followed me in to the bathroom and I had just sat down when Isabelle joined us and was giving Lainey a bad time about her very loose front tooth. Izzy kept telling her just let Grandma pull it. Believe I had tried a few days before but Lainey was having no part of it. She finally said okay "Grandma you can feel it but don't pull on it", I took hold of this tooth between my left thumb and index finger and applied a small amount of preassure. I felt it give a bit, Lainey did to. She grabbed my hand with both of hers so I would not pull anymore, I kept hold of it and applied slight down ward pull with just my fingers, Isabelle who was standing there incouraging her all this time took matters into her own hands. She put the heal of her hand very quickly on Laniey's forhead and pushed her head back ward. Needless to say the tooth remained stationary in my fingers and the mouth left the tooth. Not the other way round. It was the funniest thing I have ever been apart of. And yes I was still sitting on the pot waiting to get a second or two to my self to complete my task. I thought Isabelle was going split her pants with laughter. She pulled her sister tooth and never touched the tooth. I little while ago Isabelle came to me and told me Lainey had another tooth that was really loose. Needless to say Lainey avoided opening her mouth any where near me for the time she was here. Too funny!!!!!!!
I am getting ready to head to Joilet Ill for a Coast Guard Auxiliary class for three days. After I get the class done my son Jason will pick me up and take me to his house for a day or two. We will meet Carol and Cecil at Dads house on Tuesday or so. Then comes the task of getting it cleaned out and divided up. I do not relish this task for several reasons. It feels like such an invasion of Dads life, and it makes it all to real that he is really gone just not being a part of our lives. I wonder how easy it would have been if he had never come back in our lives. I am so very glad for the past 10 years that we had with him, a few regrets in that I should have been more forceful about making him move out to Idaho, I knew he was not as strong in the last 4 years after his bile duct ailment got him down. He never really got back from it. I think if we had all ganged up on him he would of had to give in and come here. I was selfish not wanting him to live with me. I was thinking he would live for a long time more when in my heart I was really sure his years were very very short. He was worried about losing his independence but not considering what we could have given him instead. I suppose filling my heart with regret is counter productive so I will go to the positive in all of this and that is the family reunited and so much closer than once was. I am looking forward to spending a week with my Sisters in our home town. Walking down memory lane, laughing, eating, loving and sharing good times.
I am a lucky woman to have sisters that are such a joy in my life, to have a Mom that is still living but getting frailer as each day passes, a husband who loves me with no question, two wonderful children both of whom I am so very proud, 4 Grandkids that bring me more joy than I deserve to have in my life,nieces and nephews and their kids, 3 quilting friends that listen to me every week about life and its ups and downs, the friends a bowl with, the dear friends I boat with. Oh man my life is full of the love of family and friends. I am truly blessed.
Things are good at this house. My annual cardiac visit was good. BP was right where it should be, my EKG was as normal as they get, and if all goes well my blood test will be a okay also.
I have to relay to you the most unique way I have ever seen to have a baby tooth pulled. Richard and I stopped over at Erin's to have coffee and say Hi! It was Wednesday morning and the girls were home on spring break. I had enjoyed my first cup of coffee and much laughter and conversation when the call of nature came in loud and clear. For any of you who are grandparents you know that when Grandkids are around you can not go to the bathroom by yourself. Lainey followed me in to the bathroom and I had just sat down when Isabelle joined us and was giving Lainey a bad time about her very loose front tooth. Izzy kept telling her just let Grandma pull it. Believe I had tried a few days before but Lainey was having no part of it. She finally said okay "Grandma you can feel it but don't pull on it", I took hold of this tooth between my left thumb and index finger and applied a small amount of preassure. I felt it give a bit, Lainey did to. She grabbed my hand with both of hers so I would not pull anymore, I kept hold of it and applied slight down ward pull with just my fingers, Isabelle who was standing there incouraging her all this time took matters into her own hands. She put the heal of her hand very quickly on Laniey's forhead and pushed her head back ward. Needless to say the tooth remained stationary in my fingers and the mouth left the tooth. Not the other way round. It was the funniest thing I have ever been apart of. And yes I was still sitting on the pot waiting to get a second or two to my self to complete my task. I thought Isabelle was going split her pants with laughter. She pulled her sister tooth and never touched the tooth. I little while ago Isabelle came to me and told me Lainey had another tooth that was really loose. Needless to say Lainey avoided opening her mouth any where near me for the time she was here. Too funny!!!!!!!
I am getting ready to head to Joilet Ill for a Coast Guard Auxiliary class for three days. After I get the class done my son Jason will pick me up and take me to his house for a day or two. We will meet Carol and Cecil at Dads house on Tuesday or so. Then comes the task of getting it cleaned out and divided up. I do not relish this task for several reasons. It feels like such an invasion of Dads life, and it makes it all to real that he is really gone just not being a part of our lives. I wonder how easy it would have been if he had never come back in our lives. I am so very glad for the past 10 years that we had with him, a few regrets in that I should have been more forceful about making him move out to Idaho, I knew he was not as strong in the last 4 years after his bile duct ailment got him down. He never really got back from it. I think if we had all ganged up on him he would of had to give in and come here. I was selfish not wanting him to live with me. I was thinking he would live for a long time more when in my heart I was really sure his years were very very short. He was worried about losing his independence but not considering what we could have given him instead. I suppose filling my heart with regret is counter productive so I will go to the positive in all of this and that is the family reunited and so much closer than once was. I am looking forward to spending a week with my Sisters in our home town. Walking down memory lane, laughing, eating, loving and sharing good times.
I am a lucky woman to have sisters that are such a joy in my life, to have a Mom that is still living but getting frailer as each day passes, a husband who loves me with no question, two wonderful children both of whom I am so very proud, 4 Grandkids that bring me more joy than I deserve to have in my life,nieces and nephews and their kids, 3 quilting friends that listen to me every week about life and its ups and downs, the friends a bowl with, the dear friends I boat with. Oh man my life is full of the love of family and friends. I am truly blessed.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Honeymooms!
On Friday Matt and Lindsay stayed the night with us on their way to Oregon. We had a wonderful visit and enjoyed their company very much. In talking with them the subject of their honeymoon came up. I loved the stories they told about what they did, where they went and what they saw. It brought back memories of my own honeymoon almost 40 years ago. Just writing that number makes me shudder. Never in my wildest imagination thought I would make it to 40 years and now I am looking forward to 60 at least. Richard and I did our best to ruin a 4 day weekend back in 1970. We choose the 4th of July to do the deed. We were married on one of the hottest evenings of the summer. The First Christian Church in Buhl had no air conditioning and it was very warm. If we had used our heads we would have gotten married in the morning when it was still cool. Well anyway 8 pm was the time. The wedding came off with out a hitch and we had a good time. Our car got filled with thread from every conceivable place it could come from. Getting into it was like crawling through a maze of spider webs. We had cans and the whole nine yards. Just married decorated the hood of my parents station wagon. The words were always visable after that night. Our first night of wedded bliss took us to the big city and vacation destination spot (not) of Burley, Idaho. We stayed at a nice hotel however called the Ponderosa Inn. It was fairly new and we enjoyed the two nights we stayed there. We even had to sneak back to Buhl and Richard's parents house because Richard managed to leave his clothes bag hanging at the church when we left. He called his Mom and they took it home for him. We picked it up then headed up north. Our final destination was the home of his brother in Boise. But before we got there we did a wee bit of camping. We drove up through Shoshone then on up to Bellvue, Ketchum and Sun Valley. We made for Galenia Summit and a place to camp for the night. Some where before we hit the church camp Cathedral Pines we pulled over to take a pit stop. Not many rest areas in that part of the country way back then so a thick patch of woods would have to do. Welllll that was a mistake, not so bad for Richard but I paid the ultimate price of mesquito bites on my posterior. Oh what a miserable night we both had with my constant itching and complaining about it. I would not trade that time in my life for anything. We spent 3 more nights a various places along the North Fork of the Payette River before we went on to Al and Jacques. We spent a couple of days with Al, Jacque,and their kids Barry, Brett and Belinda they gave us their travel trailer to use as a bedroom. Keeping the 3 kids out of there in the early morning was not an easy thing to do. Belinda the youngest was not to happy with me and the fact that I had married her uncle whom she had planned to marry. She got over that eventually when she found out how much fun I could be. I have no desire to repeat our honey moon adventure but would love to go somewhere awesome. Maybe a cruise or an island that is not very popular. I crave alone time and no tv, phone or interruptions of the outside world. Richard and I enjoy each others company more than that of most anyone else. We have fun with so many other people and other places but for a honey moon type setting I want no one else to answer to. I pray our daughter will find the kind of happiness that we have been so fortunate to be blessed with. With our share of up and downs, fights and arguments, fun and memories what a life we have had. Look out world we are just getting started.
We have no plans for this year but who knows maybe in the next couple I will get my honey moon wish.
We have no plans for this year but who knows maybe in the next couple I will get my honey moon wish.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Time to laugh!
Just got done reading Lucy's latest blog. I can feel her pain with the curtain issue. I never do it alone because I know exactlly what would happen. I hate hanging curtains. I leave the same ones up for years because of my intense dislike. You see I used to work for a friend of mine that made drapries. What a job and a half. We used a pool table to lay them out on and I hated it when the panels were off even just a little. It always took more time than I liked spending on them to make it perfect. The truth be told I was not any good at math and when you do stuff like that you need to measure twice and cut once. What fun is that? I am glad quilting is not so obvious when you make a mistake. I am able to hide little mistakes and seams that are not quite as straight as they could be. Whew! Good thing for me as if it were any other way I would probably quit. Richard made a beautiful tv cabinette and to my knowledge he only cut one board the wrong size. I had to laugh at for that cause even one booboo is just not in his general make up. I only had to wait two years for it. He did something on New Years Eve that he never usually does. He made a resolution or more exactually a couple of them. One was to finish the piece of furniture and the others he is keeping himself. He figures if he says them out loud I can give him a hard time about them when they do not come about. Now I ask you would I do that? I guess the best answer would be I sure enough would.
I had an interesting experience today with my youngest grand daughter Lainey. I had to drop her off at school. I am very reluctant to let her walk from the curb to the school by herself. Okay so I got out with her and started to walk her up to the school. We got up part way and she put her hands up in front of me and told that it was okay she could make it on her own. Well, I did not need a brick wall to fall on me to see that she did not want me to take her all the way up. Just does not seem possible that she is old enough to be so independent, when did I get so old.
Issabelle is growing by leaps and bounds. Getting tall and growing prettier all the time. I wish sometimes I could make time stand still. Samuel just turned 14 and soon Christian will be 12 and Izzy will be 10. Boy o boy kids are like flowers in the spring growing fast to beat the fact that before we all know it will be winter again. They are all in a hurry to grow up to be adults. It is too bad we can not give them the insite as to how hard it is to be an adult and have so much responsiblity. Not all of it is hard, we do have tons of fun and make a mountain of memories.
Recently I have been giving my childhood a lot of thought. I think it was pretty darn good! We went camping, sang songs when we drove from place to place, ate Neopolitan ice cream on Sunday after church, had a bunch of sisters to play with. We walked in the creek in the South Hills, drove miles and miles in the wilderness with our wagon and never left the backyard, rolled snow balls so big there was no hope of lifting them up to make a snow man. We drank Mom's home made hot chocolate, ate raisen cake, popcorn balls, and home made ice cream. I never remember being hungry. We may not have had the newest styles of clothes, but they were clean and pressed. We each had a bed that was warm and dry. We all went to school and had two parents that cared about us.
Holidays at our house were a sight to behold. From the many wrappings at Christmas time to the many many dyed Easter eggs. I remember one Easter we lost an egg, found it later that summer and it was not very pretty. Dad warned us to leave it alone just in case it broke open. I am not so sure he was worried about us or about how we would smell if messed with the rotten egg.
One Christmas Mom made a sorta house that was made out of cardboard and soap flakes. It was quite to sight to behold. It was decorated with candies and all snowy white. Our dog
Sox thought it would be a great thing to eat. He blew soap bubbles for a few days and was quite a sight to see. Kind of looked like he had a long white beard. Poor thing he was awfully sick for a few days.
Times like those make times like these all worth it. I am so greatful for my life all that God has seen fit to give me.
I had an interesting experience today with my youngest grand daughter Lainey. I had to drop her off at school. I am very reluctant to let her walk from the curb to the school by herself. Okay so I got out with her and started to walk her up to the school. We got up part way and she put her hands up in front of me and told that it was okay she could make it on her own. Well, I did not need a brick wall to fall on me to see that she did not want me to take her all the way up. Just does not seem possible that she is old enough to be so independent, when did I get so old.
Issabelle is growing by leaps and bounds. Getting tall and growing prettier all the time. I wish sometimes I could make time stand still. Samuel just turned 14 and soon Christian will be 12 and Izzy will be 10. Boy o boy kids are like flowers in the spring growing fast to beat the fact that before we all know it will be winter again. They are all in a hurry to grow up to be adults. It is too bad we can not give them the insite as to how hard it is to be an adult and have so much responsiblity. Not all of it is hard, we do have tons of fun and make a mountain of memories.
Recently I have been giving my childhood a lot of thought. I think it was pretty darn good! We went camping, sang songs when we drove from place to place, ate Neopolitan ice cream on Sunday after church, had a bunch of sisters to play with. We walked in the creek in the South Hills, drove miles and miles in the wilderness with our wagon and never left the backyard, rolled snow balls so big there was no hope of lifting them up to make a snow man. We drank Mom's home made hot chocolate, ate raisen cake, popcorn balls, and home made ice cream. I never remember being hungry. We may not have had the newest styles of clothes, but they were clean and pressed. We each had a bed that was warm and dry. We all went to school and had two parents that cared about us.
Holidays at our house were a sight to behold. From the many wrappings at Christmas time to the many many dyed Easter eggs. I remember one Easter we lost an egg, found it later that summer and it was not very pretty. Dad warned us to leave it alone just in case it broke open. I am not so sure he was worried about us or about how we would smell if messed with the rotten egg.
One Christmas Mom made a sorta house that was made out of cardboard and soap flakes. It was quite to sight to behold. It was decorated with candies and all snowy white. Our dog
Sox thought it would be a great thing to eat. He blew soap bubbles for a few days and was quite a sight to see. Kind of looked like he had a long white beard. Poor thing he was awfully sick for a few days.
Times like those make times like these all worth it. I am so greatful for my life all that God has seen fit to give me.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Just Wondering
It is Sunday March 7th, 2 days after my kid Jason had his 37th birthday. Well, talk about feeling older all the time. The time crawls at times then flies so fast I can not figure out how fas the time does fly when we are having fun.
Lucy, John and their family has been very much on my mind lately. Matt got married this weekend and he and Lindsey are starting a new chapter in their lives. I am so happy for the both of them and wish them many many years of wedded bliss.
The weather has been absolutely beautiful the last few days. It is very temporary as we are expecting a cold front to set in here in the next day or so. I have crocus blooming and daffies, tulips, and other spring flowers springing up all over the place. My pussy willow is full of little white buds. I love this time of year, all the old things in the ground becoming new again. I guess you can call it rebirth of a sort. It gives me a new sense of hope and a new beginning.
I have been reading FaceBook and what most of our family writes on there. It is so fun to see what everyone is doing on a regular basis. Makes them feel much closer in unity and not so far in miles.
The grand daughters were here a while ago. They ate some lunch, went roller blading and watched a movie "The Proposal". We cleaned up the kitchen and as I was putting food away. Lainey asked me if I was giving the container I was filling up to her Dad and I told her no I was saving it for PaPa's lunch. She asked me in a very serious 6 year old voice if Grandpa had a job now. He has been retired for almost 2 years and the girls are aware that he does not work. It just struck as so funny that that is how she sees things. Isabelle is busy worrying about an up coming school program where she gets to square dance. I think she worries to much about the small things in her life. It hurts to see her worry about things so hard for someone for so young. I just want her to enjoy being a kid and stop worrying about what her Mom and Dad does. She does not need to concern herself with what they do and how they act. I just keep praying she will see she can not change it with her worry.
I have a beautiful new TV cabinette sitting in my family room, thanks to my wonderful husband. He made it out of solid oak and has some really nice features. He started it about 2 years ago and lost interest in it. It sat all alone and unfinished for all that time. This January he made a New Years resolution to get it finished. Suprisingly enough it only took him about 3 weeks to finish it up. I am so glad the stuck to getting it finished. I love it and it looks so nice. Everything in it's place and a place for everything.
I have been thinking about our sister week and I am looking forward to it with much anticipation. Where we go what we do, who we see and maybe pick some asparagas. That would really be stepping back in the past. Oh it is gona be fun!
To any of you that still read this blog I hope you have a great day, be safe and love each other to the fullest.
Lucy, John and their family has been very much on my mind lately. Matt got married this weekend and he and Lindsey are starting a new chapter in their lives. I am so happy for the both of them and wish them many many years of wedded bliss.
The weather has been absolutely beautiful the last few days. It is very temporary as we are expecting a cold front to set in here in the next day or so. I have crocus blooming and daffies, tulips, and other spring flowers springing up all over the place. My pussy willow is full of little white buds. I love this time of year, all the old things in the ground becoming new again. I guess you can call it rebirth of a sort. It gives me a new sense of hope and a new beginning.
I have been reading FaceBook and what most of our family writes on there. It is so fun to see what everyone is doing on a regular basis. Makes them feel much closer in unity and not so far in miles.
The grand daughters were here a while ago. They ate some lunch, went roller blading and watched a movie "The Proposal". We cleaned up the kitchen and as I was putting food away. Lainey asked me if I was giving the container I was filling up to her Dad and I told her no I was saving it for PaPa's lunch. She asked me in a very serious 6 year old voice if Grandpa had a job now. He has been retired for almost 2 years and the girls are aware that he does not work. It just struck as so funny that that is how she sees things. Isabelle is busy worrying about an up coming school program where she gets to square dance. I think she worries to much about the small things in her life. It hurts to see her worry about things so hard for someone for so young. I just want her to enjoy being a kid and stop worrying about what her Mom and Dad does. She does not need to concern herself with what they do and how they act. I just keep praying she will see she can not change it with her worry.
I have a beautiful new TV cabinette sitting in my family room, thanks to my wonderful husband. He made it out of solid oak and has some really nice features. He started it about 2 years ago and lost interest in it. It sat all alone and unfinished for all that time. This January he made a New Years resolution to get it finished. Suprisingly enough it only took him about 3 weeks to finish it up. I am so glad the stuck to getting it finished. I love it and it looks so nice. Everything in it's place and a place for everything.
I have been thinking about our sister week and I am looking forward to it with much anticipation. Where we go what we do, who we see and maybe pick some asparagas. That would really be stepping back in the past. Oh it is gona be fun!
To any of you that still read this blog I hope you have a great day, be safe and love each other to the fullest.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Keep on trying!
I can not tell you how many times I have written this and been almost to the end and the program locked up on me. It does not want me to put our recent photos in here. Ok so I won't for the time being. On ward and up ward.
I have had a couple of funny little incidents come up in recents days that I want to share with you. The first is something Uncle Larry said when we were in Nebraska. When Uncle Larry, Margaret, Aunt Ellen, Alfreda, and Glen were getting ready to leave we all got up to share hugs and goodbyes and see you tomorrow sort of things. Carol reached around Uncle Larry and squeezed him around the middle. He sort of gasped and said I wouldn't do that if I were you I am not wind proof anymore. He said it with such a straight face that it was so funny we nearly rolling around on the floor. He is such a crazy and wonderful guy. I sure wish it was not so far to his place. It would be lovely to be able to spend some real time with him and Margaret.
The other thing that I want to tell you about is on Richard. My beloved husband. I was standing at the kitchen sink when he walked in from the family room carrying his empty cereal bowl. He made some comment to me and I answered back. Instead of stopping and leaving his bowl in the sink he walked right on passed. He walked into the bathroom and I thought to myself well okay with that I guess. I heard the water run and when he came out he was grinning and said to me, "Do you believe what I just did" well I really was wondering but let him go on with his little story. He said he rinsed his bowl and spoon looked up and saw his reflection and said to him self what a dope. What are you doing? I laughed and laughed. It is not very often that I am able to catch him doing something really silly and when I do it is always worth it. We have such a wonderful time together, we bicker when we drive but it is all in good fun and nothing serious. I am in awe of the fact the in a few months we will be married for 40 years. Boy of boy time has a way of getting away from us.
Savor all your time and never let it get to far away.
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