Grandi's Grazings

I Finally have some time!

2008-08-13T17:08:00.005-06:00

Wow - what a lot of work a move is!! But we are in - for almost 6 weeks already! Time has just flown! We left SoCal early in the morning of July 1 - the guys in the truck and hubby's car and mom & Chris and me by plane! We definitely chose the easier route! At the 10 hour point in what was supposed to be a 16 hour drive, the guys were stuck in a small town with broken fan belts and 2 tires that would not go any further. They were all fixed and ready to go about noon the next morning and with traffic finally crossed into our new state about 7 that night. At that point they were still about 3 hours from our new home - well, in theory anyway - but they called to say they were "home"! A few minutes later they blew a tire as they were pulling into the weigh station! After several phone calls they found an "angel" who had the truck tire they needed and would come out and put it on. As he was changing the tire he chatted with the guys and told them he was recovering from a heart attack - - that he'd had just 3 days before!!!! He cheerfully got the tire put on and the lady in the weigh station finally let them continue on! Mom had gone back to Morning Glory's house to go to bed earlier, but Chris and I waited til the guys got home. We had the new beds set up, so there was room for the 3 guys to fall into bed when they got there, and then we went back to MG's house and crawled into our beds - - at 4am!! Yup - it took them 47 hours to get there - that includes sleep/delay time, but they had only planned on about 30 from start to finish!

The beautiful home that was ready for us though reved them up and by a little after noon that day the truck was unloaded and we were working our way through boxes! Chris' daughter T and her husband S flew up to help unpack and were a great addition to our crew along with MG and her hubby and my hubby's brother - L!! We couldn't have done it all without them!!

When we packed the truck in SoCal - we had more stuff than we realized and there wasn't room for the couch and loveseat in the truck - along with a few other items. We were able to find homes for everything real quick, and got the truck closed. That meant however, that we needed to buy new couches as soon as we got here instead of after a few months as we had planned. We all went to a local huge furniture store. Since hubby was chomping at the bit for his "big screen" this was as good a time as any! The girls went looking at couches and the boys went to electronics side! We came away with 2 couches, and leather chair and ottoman, an entertainment unit and a 52" flat screen tv!! A wonderful time was had by all!! Especially when we were the only ones who had to flip out the visa card! HA!! It was all delivered the

following week and we love it all!!

We had a lovely July 4th celebration in MG's back yard with Beth and Karen and all the kids, and all our moving buddies. Chris and Ron left Saturday morning to fly home, L took off with his truck on Sunday morning and Mom stayed for another week to help me unpack!! She is an amazing lady - at 84, she works circles around all of us! Her goal was to be able to get my car into the garage before she left. Well, we got close, but it took me another 2 weeks to actually be able to actually close the garage door behind it!

We are enjoying the house soooo much!! it is very open and the view out the back of the park is just wonderful! This is the view from the breakfast table - Wonder what this will look like covered with snow!!

A Busy Weekend

2008-06-12T10:19:00.000-06:00

This last Saturday night our choir gave us a going away party. It was a really fun evening with a lot of games, good food and friends! Hubby and I didn't realize it was a going away party til after the evening's events started! HA! I think we were a little dense there!! Anyway we were surprised at the end when they gave us handmade pillowcases that everyone had signed! The sentiments were all wonderful and some made us a bit teary. We're going to miss these folks!!

The pillowcases were made by my friend Chris and they will fit king sized pillows - they are a little hard to see, but the edging is sheet music! Perfect since we have been in this choir for more than 35 years!!

Sunday morning we went down to San Diego for MissA's dedication in church. In our denomination we don't baptise til the person is old enough to make that decision for themselves. But we do bring babies and dedicate them to Christ and the parents dedicate themselves to raise the child to know and love Christ. It's a really neat time! Well - of course MissA was adorable and when the pastor's wife was holding her and the pastor was praying for her, MissA grabbed her necklace and stuffed it in her mouth. It was so cute - and since there are always folks who don't close their eyes when someone is praying, a ripple of chuckles went through the congregation. We looked up to see her holding that necklace and happily chewing on it!

She is in that stage of getting teeth when the world is her chew toy - and at lunch, she "talked" Uncle Jeff into sharing his watch!

Sunday night was the annual Pie Auction at our church. Every year our teen department holds this event to raise money to send kids to church camp in the summer. It has gotten quite expensive for the week over the years and this helps more kids go at a reduced cost to their families! Pies - either purchased or home made are brought to either be served at $3 a slice or auctioned off. Folks also commit to bake a pie at some time during the year, and these "future pies" can be bid on too. It usually starts slow, but it doesn't take long for folks to get into the action. I baked 3 chocolate silk pies - (incredibly yummy!) - and during the evening they sold for between $150 - $200 each!! There were a lot of pies and in a 2 hour period we raised $6100!!! The last "pie" of the evening traditionally is the "pie in the face". This pie raises the most money, because all the bids go into one pot - I think it ended up at over $1200!! The person who had the most money pledged for them to get the pie, being a good sport, covers up with a plastic bag and the whipped cream flies! Many times Pastor has taken it, several times the Youth Pastor has gotten it, but this time hubby "won" the privledge!! He has been the chairman of the church board for more than 20 years and since we are moving, it was proposed that the new chair of the board throw the pie! So good friend Jeanne got the honors!! She was kind and only smooshed his face not his hair!!

Good times!!

More Remodel Pictures and Thots

2008-06-02T13:54:00.000-06:00

My friend Morning Glory went by our house this weekend and I was greeted with a bunch of lovely new pictures of our house this morning when I turned on my computer!

They had to put a huge beam and trusses in to hold the whole thing up - it spans almost 40 feet from end to end!!

We didn't think they would be able to give us a vaulted ceiling at first - but our contractor said the truss company engineered it so it could be bumped up and it will be sooooo neat when it's done!!

We have some lovely big windows to take advantage of the daylight and the view. I am running out of adjectives to describe how excited we are about this; "wow" and "wonderful" and "beautiful" just don't seem like enough any more!! Its going to be big - and right now with no furniture in it - "huge" is another word that just doesn't seem like enough!! HA!!

They just started on the kitchen island and that is also going to be spacious and will take full advantage of the wonderful light and views! I'll also be able to be a part of everything that's going on! It has a bunch of drawers and a wide cabinet with pull-out shelves, the kitchen sink, dishwasher and a cool cabinet that will look like the others, but will house my trash can out of sight, but handy!

We picked out some paint colors - a soft goldy-yellow for the kitchen, medium taupe for the greatroom and a lighter taupe for the old living room/new dining room with a dark red accent wall at one end. We have a carpet sample, and the colors look good with it. That's as far as we've gotten though - we have no clue what the new furniture will be! We'll have to get in and live with it a bit before we make those choices. We do have the wonderful dining set and we'll bring the furniture we have now so we'll have some time to get the new stuff right!

One month from today - July 2 - the truck will be pulling into the driveway and the new chapter will begin! I started thinking about that yesterday - a new chapter. I do a lot of reading and authors usually start a new chapter when the story line makes a change. The existing characters don't change, and the relationships in the previous chapters don't go away, but there is a shift to something new. The chapters in the story leading up to the new chapter usually have set the stage for the story to shift, and their content has an impact on the continuing story line.

I sort of feel like that is what is happening in my life; my current chapter is winding down and the next one is about to make it's appearance on the new page. The characters that are in the narrative to this point don't go away or become less relevant to my story, they are special, and always will be. The story has been shaped by the friends and family and the daily lives we have lived, and we don't suddenly change because we have a new address. But in this new chapter there will be new characters and new adventures, and once again the story will be shaped by our changed environment. We have had a solid group of friends and family our whole lives and they are hard to leave. (We are hoping they will make frequent good use of our guest rooms!) The time with those folks will be always be special because we share a long history of friendship, prayer support and good times!

I'm excited about this new chapter - and a little apprehensive too - in order to meet new friends we will be challenged to step out of our comfort zones! I have lived in SoCal for 59 years and 353 days, and my mom and dad and grandparents before me! But 60 seems to be a perfect age for a new adventure!

Purty New Car and House Progress

2008-05-08T13:35:00.000-06:00

I'm writing in red today to celebrate my BE-U-TI-FUL new car! It's a Saturn Outlook - red, as you can see with pretty light tan leather seats! It will pull a trailer to camp with and has enough room to pick visiting friends and family up from the airport!! When we ordered it the dealer said it would take 10 - 12 weeks - but since it's about the end of the model year they got it out in just 5 weeks!! So we got to drive it for a day, but now it will just sit in our garage in Northern Retirement State til we get there!! Oh well - it didn't make any sense to drive it all the way to So Cal for just a few weeks then back!

The contractor is moving right along on our remodel! On Monday they got the sub-floor down and he told me yesterday that the wall framing was up!! Can hardly wait to see that! It is sooo fun - it will be a large room with plenty of windows and lots of light!

It was such a fast trip - up on Sunday, back on Tuesday, but we got sooo much done! We registered the car, ordered all the windows, the back door and a new front door, confirmed the carpet, hardwood floors and counter tops and found pendant lights and a chandelier for the dining room!

I still have to get the sink faucet ordered - I sure wish Dishmaster made a prettier, more updated looking faucet - but I love the pull-out scrubber-handle-with-the-button-for soap SO MUCH I will overlook that the company has fallen a bit short in the faucet design!

Well, we leave next Tuesday for Paris, France! Hubby and I are spending 4 nights there to explore the beautiful city, then we'll leave Sunday morning to take the Chunnel train under the English Channel to London where we will meet Morning Glory and her hubby! We'll spend another 10 days with them in Southwestern England!! Then we'll come home to just a month before we pack the apartment and head north!! Boy!! This last 2 years has gone SOOOOO FAST!!!

Granddaughters Are So Fun!

2008-05-02T14:04:00.000-06:00

We had so much fun last weekend - we got to babysit our granddaughters! Computer Guy and Darling Wife had a special date and we were only tooooo happy to drive down and help them out!

As we approached the door MissC greeted us with, "GrandiPoppys here! Mommy, GrandiPoppys here!!" at the top of her lungs! I love it!! Makes the drive worth it even if that's all there was!!!

We played while mommy and daddy got ready to go - they looked soooo good!! Then off they went and we played games, read books, told stories - all around had a wonderful time!! Because it is a long drive we stayed the night so CG & DW wouldn't have to cut their evening short.

Hubby slept on the blow up bed, and I shared the couch (quite comfortable actually) with Cooper the granddog! The guy cracks me up! It was hot in the afternoon - so here he is trying to stay cool, and this is one of the positions he was in when we were sharing the couch!! He really poses himself in these positions!!

Next Step - Foundation

2008-04-25T14:51:00.000-06:00

Morning Glory just sent more pictures!! We now have a foundation!!

The bump-out will be a lovely breakfast room at the end of the kitchen - this is soooo fun to watch through her camera lens!

We can also see that our neighbors on both sides have finished putting their fences in too! We have met the folks on one side, but the big house on the other side (you can see a play house over the fence) was for sale a long time before it finally sold just a few months ago. We haven't met them yet, but I'm looking forward to that!

Here's a picture from the inside of the larger of the 2 guest rooms, the wall and door came out and a new entry will be built and the room will be enlarged to include the short wall that is just studs now. It will make it a really nice sized bedroom. The rest of the area behind that is all great room!

We'll be going up in early May for a really fast trip to choose lighting and windows! The framing should be started by then! I can hardly wait to see it in person! Thanks MG for sending us pictures!!

Gentlemen - Wield Your Hammers!

2008-04-17T11:35:00.000-06:00

Oh my gosh!! They have started!!! Our contractor has done the excavation for the new foot print, and has started 'de-construction' of the back side of our Northern Retirement State home to add a 500 sq ft addition that will turn the 4th bedroom, small dining area and kitchen on the flat back side of the house into a lovely great room, breakfast room and expanded kitchen with views of the park behind us and the beautiful mountains in the distance! This sure doesn't look like that big of an area - but it is!

Here's what the kitchen looked like a week ago -( these pictures were actually taken the day we bought the house)!

Now here's what it looked like yesterday!! Morning Glory went and took pictures for me! Is this neat or what!! They took all the cabinets out and put them in the garage for the time being. Then when the outside is put together they will bring them back in and reset them in a little different configuration!!

Anyone interested in a nice gas stove? I prefer electric and will be buying a new one when we get there.

The guy doing all the ripping apart was sure we'd be horrified at what we saw in the pictures she was taking - but she assured him it would be ok! This is soooo exciting!!

Another Good Read and Other Stuff

2008-04-10T15:44:00.000-06:00

I'd like to introduce you to someone I've referred to in my blog as "Darling Wife"! She now has a blog by the name of Sugar Free Cherries! Drop by and say hello when you have the time!

I had a jarring piece of news yesterday - I have 3 herniated discs in my neck! About a month ago we were coming home from Northern Retirement State after a visit, and I muscled my not-too-light carry-on suitcase up into the overhead on the plane. I didn't get it high enough, and it bounced back at me. I caught it a bit off balance and shoved it in again and at the same time felt my neck shift. I thought at the time that I shouldn't have done that, and turns out that I was right!

The pain started in just a few days, and has been relentless for almost 3 weeks! I started going to my chiropractor after the first week, and it wasn't getting any better. He scheduled an MRI for me this last Monday, and I started with an Acupuncturist the same day. I got the results of the test last night and am blown away. I have changed some things in my life forever, by my "I am woman, I am strong" act of hefting my own suitcase over my head instead of asking for some help.

My Chiro and my Acupuncturist both feel they can help, so I am going to continue with both. Actually, today is the first day I have not been in total pain in 3 weeks. I can still feel the tightness - but it has been a good day! Ladies - a word from the wiser - allowing someone to help with the heavy stuff is not a bad thing - does not make me less in charge of my life - and will make the guy in my life happy that he can help me!!

Pretty Exciting Weekend

2008-03-20T12:43:00.000-06:00

We just got back from spending a long weekend with Morning Glory and her hubby in Northern Retirement State!! Boy! Did we have a fun time! We always enjoy staying with them and as usual had a great time! We even actually let the guys win at Canasta one night! One of the other reasons for going was to meet with our contractor about our remodel and they will actually be starting within a month!! He is getting bids from his subs and he is finishing up the changes on the plans,then he'll get the permits, and get started on it!! We went and picked out carpeting, wood floors and counter tops - - and we even ordered my new car!! We got so much done in a short period of time!!

Our renters have been smoking in there and the place REEKS!! They are leaving it clean other than that though, so once we tear up the old carpet the nasty smell will be gone. We chose a really neat carpet - it is a little bit shaggy, but not too long and has a few specks of a deep red, navy, green and gold - but it is basically a dark tan that will not show tracked in dirt. We also chose wood to replace the ceramic tile in there now - it's pretty - but we are not tile floor fans and since we are doubling the size of the kitchen we will need to re-do the floors. It's oak and has a "hand planed" finish so dents and wear won't show. In real life it looks really good with the carpet and with the cabinets in the kitchen - which we are keeping and adding more of!

We have granite counter tops now, and they are pretty - but they won't work for the new shape of the counters so we picked out a surface that looks similar in color, but isn't nearly as busy or expensive! I've always had laminates and I've had no issues with them - so since we have in the neighborhood of 90 sq ft of counter tops we went with that as a more affordable alternative! It's one of the new types, and it is beautiful!! We are doing the backsplash in tumbled travertine - with a pieced border - I'm sooooo excited to see all this come together!

We also went out to meet the Saturn dealer in town. I had been emailing him and told him I wanted to buy a car from him. I thought it would be a good idea for him to actually meet us to see that we were serious buyers. We looked at the cars with MG & hub and met with the salesman and ended up ordering my car!! Yippee!! It's a red Saturn Outlook and it will take 10 - 12 weeks to come in. That will be perfect for our move date!! It's all a bit scary - we got all this stuff arranged and ordered in just a couple of days!! It's really happening!! Wahoo!!

It's been sort of amazing how everything has been working out. We have really put a lot of prayer all along into this move and we've made our plans - then given God full "veto power"! So far the doors have opened and we just keep moving through them! One of the things that hadn't dropped into place yet was jobs. I had been given the go-ahead to reduce my hours and work from home and stay with my company. That is a real blessing because of the insurance. But there was the concern about what hubby would be doing, because we really don't want to start taking his social security this early. Last week, just before we left on the trip, his boss talked to him and wants him to also stay with his company - and work from home!! Wow - we stand in amazement at how God works!!! So we will both have 30-hour a week jobs, computers and phone lines from our respective companies and insurance!! That will give us the freedom do work in a bit of gardening during the summer and a ski day every so often in the winter and still get the work done so we have salaries!! Perfect!

I just looked at this whole thing on line! What is with the spacing??? I really do have paragraphs with spaces in between on this composing screen! Oh well!!

It's Really Almost Ours

2008-02-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well, our renters have been given notice and they will be out by the end of March!! Yippeeeeee!! We've owned this lovely home for a little over a year and a half, and with the exception of the week we bought it, I've only been in it 2 times!! I have bunches of pictures of every conceivable nook and cranny and measurements of all the rooms, but I haven't really felt like it has been truly MINE!!

Every time we visit Morning Glory we drive by, take pictures, walk in the park behind, and take more pictures - just to have a connection with it. But now - - almost really ours!!

We are planning a bit of remodeling, so we had a contractor and his architect go in to look at it - they are friends of ours, and I think the end result will be wonderful! Anyway when they went in the place reeked of cigarette smoke - so bad his throat hurt by the time they left!! He let me know and hubby and I decided that the renters were done!! We were going to let them stay a couple more months - but the fact that they are smoking in my house - MY HOME just frosts me! I'm very allergic to the smoke, so my understanding was that our property manager would be making that clear to any renter - aahhh - assumptions!! Anyway, we want our contractor to be able to start when he is ready, so having them out sooner rather than later is good.

So it's really almost ours!! Ours to remodel and decorate and welcome friends and guests to enjoy with us!! We are doing the remodel because there is a very small living room in the center of the house - nice, cathedral ceilings, fireplace - but very small when you take the "pass-through" areas into consideration. Also if you stand out on the back porch, behind the dining room you can see the lovely park behind our house, and the mountains in the distance. Unfortunately you can't see anything from the living room because it has no windows!!! SO! We are going to take a 4th back bedroom, the dining room and kitchen, bump the back wall out and make a wonderful great room! I've drawn ideas for the architect to "jump off" from and we are really excited!! We'll have a large living area, breakfast room, expanded kitchen and the old living room will become the dining room - which will hold our new dining room set beautifully!

We found it in October when we were visiting - it's the hutch with the leaded top windows and a table and 10 (yes 10!!) chairs!! It is a 54" round table with 6 leaves that can extend it to seat 18!! The furniture store offered to store it in their warehouse for us for free - so what else could we do but say yes!! It is really pretty and will look great in that room. We have always had hand-me-down tables, and we loved them and will still use Gramie's table in our breakfast room, it was so fun to actually choose something we both actually love!!

Well, That's all for today! I'm almost not a landlord!! Yeaaaaa!!!!

This Makes Me Much Better

2008-01-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

Aaaahhhhh - breathing through my nose again is sooo sweet!! I finally am feeling like this thing is going away! YEA!!!

To make me feel really good today I got several emails from DiL in Ohio loaded with pictures!! We haven't had any in a while and these were like water on parched ground!

This is our oldest granddaughter MissT with little sister (grandaughter #3) MissK! So nice that all the girls have names that have different first letters!!

MissK looks like she is quite a character! She is 9 months old but was born 3 months early - so she is up to 15 lbs, and I hear she is starting to crawl!
Last time we saw them in August she was only 5 months but was still acting only 2-3 months old. So it looks like she is watching big sister and working on catching up!

MissT is 5 3/4 and is also quite a cutie - she loves craft and art projects of any kind. She is totally horse crazy - and since I was a horse crazy little girl when I was young we have had fun drawing horses and coloring them together!

Yea! I love picture days!!

The Winter Cold

2008-01-03T13:10:00.001-07:00

Is there anything nastier than the winter cold? No, not that winter thing that puts us in jackets and mufflers and might even mean snow. I mean that drippy, snuffly, coughy, congested winter cold. Hubby had it, now I have it - I don't want it and did not ask to receive it - but I have it. I have blown my nose til I have a charming red cold sore at the base of my nose and my cough sounds like my lungs are coming apart. Other than that I'm feeling better than I did over the weekend so I am back at work and trying not to sound contagious!

I don't think I am by now, the low feverishness was gone by Sunday - I think I'm just in the "mopping up" stage now. Hubby got it first, and he tried to be stingy with it, but it finally caught me.

I've taken Airborne (wasn't that supposed to prevent this?), vitamin C, Tylenol Cold and Flu (daytime and nighttime), Echanasia and Goldenseal (sp?), and Contac. I put Mentholatum on my nose and Vicks on my chest at night. I'm sucking on Vics Mentholiptus, more vitamin c, and Ricola, and hubby and I have gone through 2 family-sized boxes of Puffs plus Lotion tissues! I've been sleeping on the couch for 2 weeks, because we are both snoring, coughing and blowing noses at night and this way we won't wake the other up - just in case one or the other of us has finally gotten to sleep that is! (Gheesh - isn't that an adorable picture!!)

ENOUGH!!!!

I am ready to talk to coworkers without explaining that my voice is gone but I'm feeling better; to quit coughing and blowing my nose; to answer the phone without wondering if all the sound will be there when I say hello!

On the plus side - I've lost 3 pounds because nothing tastes good! HA!!

Christmas Fun

2007-12-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

I have not run across anything much more fun than granddaughters - and being with granddaughters at Christmas is just the best! We were blessed to be able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with Computer Guy, Darling Wife and the girls; Misses C & A! Christmas Eve we all dressed up to go to church then out to a wonderful dinner at PF Changs - (Oh my - wonderful food!!) then back to their house for bedtimes and the wonderful hot cocoa with homemade peppermint marshmallos!!

MissC had a special dress of black velvet with a wide pink bow at the dropped waist and black bows in her hair. The 3-mo old MissA wore a fetching dress with a black velvet top and a full-circle red plaid tafeta high waisted skirt. Both wore matching white socks with bows and soft black "mary janes". Are they just the cutest or what?!!

When we got back to their house after dinner DW & MissC put together a plate for Santa with cookies, carrots and a bowl of oats for the reindeer. It was all toooo cute!! Great Nana is in the background looking on.

Mom, hubby and I spent the night at a nearby motel, and came back first thing in the morning to see what Santa had brought - the doll house was perfect and it hadn't taken CG & DW toooo long to get it assembled after we left the night before!

Christmas morning always went by too fast when I was a kid, and that doesn't seemed to have changed! All too soon the presents were opened, oooed and aaahhhed over and we took ours out to the car to be taken home. We had a wonderful breakfast then we gathered everyone for the annual Christmas picture and as I look at it again, I realize again how blessed we are!

*****

The weekend before Christmas CG & DW asked if we would consider coming down to babysit for them, and we were delighted to do that! A month before MissC's 2nd birthday last spring she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes - and taking care of her insulin and food needs has added a whole new layer of responsibility to the regular job of being parents! The doctor had her on insulin shots for a while, and she was a very good sport about them, but DW set out right away to see if there could be a better way for her. She has had an insulin pump now for a few months now and that seems to be working very well for her. She is very patient when mom or dad needs to "talk to her pump" and when she is hungry she asks to be tested so she can eat! She is quite a trooper!

Anyway - since she was diagnosed, it's been a little harder to leave her for a "grown-up" evening out. DW's mom or sister are sometimes unavailable, so they haven't had many date nights in the last few months! We have been learning how to work the pump and just what she should be eating for her meals, so when they asked if we had the evening free, we were pretty excited! We had a whole evening of playing and reading books and hubby made up some pretty amazing stories about Dora and Ariel and Nemo that delighted MissC! MissA is cooing now and she was so fun to cuddle and play with! We decided to just spend the night so their date night didn't have to end early, and got up early the next morning and were back home in time for Sunday School! We had sooo much fun - we're looking forward to doing that again!!

Christmas Meme

2007-12-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

I just read this over at Seeds From My Garden and thought it looked like fun!

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate with Darling Wife's homemade peppermint marshallows!
2. What is your favorite holiday dish? My mom always makes a prime rib on Christmas - YUM!!
3. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Gheesh - it's hard to choose! - Ok - the toffee squares in the See's Candy box that always appears on Christmas!
4. Candy canes? Yes - the old fashioned peppermint kind!
5. Wrapping paper or gift bag? Bag when I'm lazy - paper if I find just the right one!
6. Easiest person to buy for? Granddaughters - I have to slap my hands to make me stop!
7. Hardest person to buy for? Someone with no hobbies or interests
8. Have you ever regifted a Christmas present? I think I may have - something nice though, not junky!
9. Do you remember your favorite gift? When I was 17 I had an old Studebaker Lark -with no heater - that year my dad took the car for "service" and had a heater put in it. I cried it was so sweet!! Every cold morning after that he would start my car and turn that heater on for me so the car was warm before I went to school.
10. Do you open a gift Christmas Eve? No - I always waited as a child and the few I have opened on Christmas Eve just didn't have the same "wonder"!
11. Does Santa wrap presents? Yes - but usually in different paper from the other gifts
12. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Wait - what truth?
13. Which do you prefer… Giving or receiving? Unashamedly - Both!
14. Do you mail or email Christmas cards? Postal mail - and they have to be Nativity cards!
15. Real tree or artificial? I always loved the smell of real, but the kind and size I like got sooo expensive a few years ago we bought an artificial - it's a good one though, and you can't tell the difference without touching! I usually use real wreaths and boughs so it still smells good in the house!
16. Colored lights or white? Hubby likes colored and I have always done white on the tree - but more and more I think my next year's tree lights may be colored!
17. What tops your tree? A leaded star hubby fell in love with a long time ago.
18. How do you decorate your tree? With white lights, and loaded with lots of toys, old-looking things, colored wooden beads - very country and very happy!
19. When do you put your decorations up? The weekend after Thanksgiving
20. How do you decorate your house? Mom gives hubby a nutcracker every year - we have a large collection of them and really enjoy placing them around the house. I collect a Santa every year so we have lots of those too - they are all so festive looking! I love them! I use fresh greens for the fragrance and of course the Nativity sets get special attention.
21. When do you take your decorations down? Usually the weekend after New Year's Day
22. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. I have a couple of them - and they are always special to set out
23. Do you hang a stocking? No, not for hubby and me. I have them for my kids and the grandkids I see on Christmas though.
24. Do you hang mistletoe? Sometimes - just for fun!
25. Favorite tradition? A new one for this year and last - Spending Christmas Eve with Mom and Computer guy, the granddaughters and Darling Wife's family. We go to a Christmas program at their church, then out to dinner. We spend the night then have early Christmas morning with son and his family. Then after brunch we drive back to Mom's house for the wonderful afore mentioned afternoon prime rib dinner! Mom is a collector of people, so she usually fills her table with friends who have no other family to be with. It is always an eclectic group and a lot of fun!
26. Favorite Christmas song? Oh - I love the old traditional ones, and I also love some of the newer ones - my radio station on my computer plays them for the whole month of December and I just love them all - um, except "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by the Pretenders - I know they are pros - but no one on the radio should sing that flat!!!
27. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story
28. Snow. I have not lived in it - so I love it! We've been in it when we ski - it is sooooo pretty! I know - once it is slushy it is not nice - but I still think it is beautiful!
29. Can you ice skate? Not well - I took lessons several years ago - my goal was to skate backwards - I finally accomplished it, but I don't think it was pretty.
30. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Midnight Candlelight Christmas Eve service at our Lutheran Church. Having home made eggnog in the kitchen in the morning and waiting for Gramie & Grandpop to arrive early on Christmas morning - that signaled we could finally go into the living room where the "opening" would commence! Mom would hand the gifts out 1 at a time and we would all watch it being opened - it made the gift opening last longer and everyone could ooh & aah - and you could see their reaction when they opened the one from you!!
31. Least favorite holiday memory as a child? I had peeked into packages in mom's closet and saw a beautiful robe with matching slippers. On Christmas morning I kept waiting but it wasn't there. I couldn't say anything though. Later in the day we went to my aunt's house, and there, in the display of gifts on my cousin's bed was the beautiful robe and slippers! Auntie had hidden them in mom's closet so cousin wouldn't peek and spoil her surprise. That cured me - I have never peeked or shaken since!
32. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Remembering that Christmas is celebrating the fact that God's only son, Jesus the Christ came to earth because He loves me. All the other things - no matter how fun and special - take 2nd place to that gift!

Way to go Mom!

2007-10-15T11:13:00.001-06:00

My mom is an artist - a really good one! You've met her before - she was the 83-year old lady zip-lining through the rain forest in Costa Rica last March with us!

She has been drawing or painting and creating as long as I can remember, and she starting taking oil painting classes at least 25 years ago. The Senior Center in her town has several excellent classes and the teachers are professionals. She started with light houses they had visited and little English cottages and has grown in skill and widened her scope to encompass pretty much anything that takes her fancy!

A year ago she was invited to do a month-long 1-woman art show in the Center's art gallery and she got busy preparing for it. The opening reception was Oct 5th and the show has received great reviews! Hubby and I and went down to help her set up all the food for the reception and a lot of people came and ate and oo'd and ah'd over all the artwork! It was a lot of fun and a great success! (The only bad part of this was my total lack of thinking ahead that I may want to use these photos I took - they are not at great angels or in perfect lighting, but you get the idea!!)

I'm really proud of her - at an age when a lot of folks just sort of curl up and wait to die, she is excited about her life and about truly living every day of it. She is a widow now, and although she misses daddy every day, she doesn't want to miss anything that might be new and interesting. He didn't want her to stop living life just because he wouldn't be there to share it with her.

I'm proud to say she is my mom!

Welcome MissA

2007-10-01T14:00:00.001-06:00

Well, I am sooo happy to report that this sweet family

has now become this beautiful family!

MissA made her entrance Sunday night Sept 23! She weighed in at 7lb 10oz and 19.25" long! She is really pretty and although in the week that has passed, MissC has fallen in love with her, she wasn't too sure why mommy was holding that baby! She had spent the night with her aunt and uncle and they had just arrived at the hospital Monday morning, so this was her first introduction to her own real live little sister!

This beautiful little girl is our 4th granddaughter and although raising 2 boys was fun, granddaughters are a whole new adventure!

When gd #1 came a little over 5 years ago I didn't really know how to shop for girls - we didn't get to see her too often, so my skill level stayed rather static til MissC came along 2.5 years ago! Babies R Us is a blast and I went to work on honing my skills! Shopping for # 3 was fun, but again - they live far away so I don't get to see her often. When I went to do a little shopping for MissA so I'd be ready when she came I realized I have hit my stride. I have to be careful not to go overboard - all those little clothes are soooooooo cute!!! Sparkly and flowered tennys are so fun and it's a good thing that Babies R Us is far enough away so that I can't just stop by any old time!! HA!!

Welcome to the family MissA! Love, Grandi & Poppy

At Long Last

2007-08-29T18:04:00.000-06:00

Hi All! Well, I have been swamped at work and since that is where my computer is I have barely had time to read any posts, much less take the time to create! But my day is at an end and I just have to share some pictures!
In early July I had to make a whirlwind trip to our offices in Chicago, Birmingham, Kansas City and Washington DC - It was fun - I had meetings to announce a new health benefit and off I went again! It was tiring, but really fun. On the way back to SoCal I could see this glow from my plane window - as we got closer I realized that I was seeing a sunset through the clouds! It looked like a pool of molten lava - what a treat!

Just a week after that trip we went on an Alaskan cruise with Morning Glory, my mom and her friend L, and some new friends! We had so much fun!! Cruising is a great way to travel as a group - you can sort of do your own thing during the day and meet back for dinner and in the case of Alaska see incredible scenery that there is just no other way to see!

When we got off the ship on Saturday morning in Seattle an old friend who lives on Whidby Island picked us up and took us home with her for the rest of the weekend. She and her husband are renting a cute home and have future plans to build a house on land they have bought on the island. They drove us all around and what a beautiful place they live in! Their property is on a hillside and is just spectacular! When we were enjoying our coffee Sunday morning this little deer came into their front yard to munch! She just stood there and watched me take her picture!

In early August we went down to San Diego to visit Computer Guy, Darling Wife and MissC - of course MissC was just soooo fun! I thougt you'd enjoy this picture of MissC having a "tea party" in her playhouse with her buddy, a Viszla named Cooper! He very patiently waited for his goodie! We drove down to Coronado Island for dinner then walked out on the waterfront - They are such a sweet and fun family and are looking forward to meeting the new MissA in just a month!

This last weekend we were able to fly back to Ohio to see The VP and Daughter-in-Law and MissT and their new MissK! It's been a year since we saw them and MissT has really grown! She has just started kindergarten! When MissT was only 2 I bought some fabric called "Girly-Girl" for a quilt and I figured at 5 that she is probably old enough to appreciate it - so I got it made and took it with us!

It.was.a.hit!! I was so glad - she LOVED it!! It was really fun to make - I put that really soft fuzzy stuff on the back and it turned out sooo cuddly! VP told me yesterday she has slept with it every night!! Yea! We also got to meet the new MissK! She was born 3 months early - so she is 5 months old even though she only looks about 2 months old! VP showed me her first little one-sy (sp?) and it was very big on her. I laid it and her first little cap next to a 6-9 month outfit - you can see how small they are! The tinyness of it was amazing. We enjoyed the visit - it was short - only the weekend, but we made the most of it!

It was a little hard to get pictures of MissK - because when the light would come on the front of the camera she immediately stared at it and the pictures were reminicent of "deer in the headlights"! But on the way to the airport Sunday morning while she was playing with hubby, I was finally able to catch her smiling! She looks just like big sister did at 2 months and both girls are the picture of their daddy!!

Miss Cinderbella

2007-06-27T13:53:00.000-06:00

When we met CG & DW and MissC at Disneyland a couple of weeks ago, one of the things we did was wait in line to see the Princesses. This was a new one for me - I didn't know they had that attraction! Well, we waited for quite a while hoping that Cinderella would still be there when we reached the front of the line. Just as it was our turn, Cinderella went on her break (Princesses get breaks??) and the Fairy Godmother came in. So we were glad we had not told MissC that we would be seeing Cinderella!! We did get to see Jasmine (Aladdin) and Snow White and of course Cindy's Fairy Godmother though and that was fun! MissC was totally awed by them but it didn't take long til we could take her picture with them and she loved it! As you walk out they channel you into the Princess Store - to give you an opportunity to purchase! The Cinderella dresses were outrageously expensive, so we took pictures.

This morning I got an email from DW - and she sent me a picture of MissC in her new "Cinderbella" dress! DW made it for her! Toooooo Cuuuute!!!

My Birthday Card

2007-06-18T11:16:00.000-06:00

My birthday was last week - 59 - UGH - it's hard not to think that I have finished 59 years of life and have started on my 60th!! I do not feel anywhere near 60 in my head!! I remember when my grandparents were 60 - they were OLD!!! Of course I was probably in my late teens - and 60 WAS old!! My mom tells me now thought that her 83 is the new 63 - so that means my 59 is the new 39? Now I can handle that!! HA!!

Hubby gave me a really neat birthday card - keeping in mind that when that 60th birthday does roll around we will be either packing up to move or unloading the truck in Northern Retirement State - and embarking on a new adventure - Here is what it says. (It is a Hallmark, so it is copywrited, so you can't republish it under your own name!!)

PICTURE THIS:

You and I, years and

years from now,

cruising along some costal

highway with the top down,

stereo blasting,

the wind whipping our hair.

Whatever we want to do,

we do it.

No agenda, no schedule,

nobody else

to worry about.

We travel the country,

buying silly T-shirts

and sending postcards,

stopping at tiny

roadside cafes

in search of the

world's best

blueberry pie.

No hurry. No rush.

Relaxing in the comfort

of a lifetime

of companionship.

You and I . . .

lovers, friends, partners

on this road of life.

Happy Birthday!

Isn't that just a nice picture? I loved it!! He is truly a neat guy! I'm so glad I snagged him all those years ago!! I am so looking forward to those roads and maybe we'll even expand to blackberry and apple pie!!

Oh, Such Fun!

2007-06-11T13:57:00.000-06:00

Oh my goodness - we have had such fun in the last few weeks!! First we went down to Computer Guy and Darling Wife's home to spend the day visiting and playing with MissC - she was, as usual, adorable and we really had a nice day! We took my mom and spent most of the day, walked to their favorite mexican restaurant for dinner, then headed home. Granddaughters are so much fun!! Hubby always wanted a girl, but we had 2 boys. Now he is getting his wish! We have 3 granddaughters and 1 more on the way!

In early May we popped up to our Northern Retirement State to visit Morning Glory and family - we cruised past our house several times during the weekend and peeked over the fence! Everything looks good - it appears that our renter is taking care of our house for us - at least the outside looks neat and well kept! We also took a drive up into the mountains to visit a beautiful ski resort - it was such an incredible drive - and we make several stops along the way. There is a beautiful lake where MG & family have spent many happy vacations camping - we even camped with them there several years ago. It's a place we will definitely go back to after we move!! I think MG posted a similiar picture - but it is so pretty I know you'll enjoy it again!!

This last week has been very fun! My brother and his kids and grandson came down to SoCal for vacation and on Tuesday we took off and went down to Sea World with them. CG and DW have season passes so they came too! This is MissC feeding a fish to the seals - they come right up and take it out of the little tube! They were funny and verrry noisy!! At the end of the day we got to see the Shamu show - wow - who knew killer whales could be so gracefull! It was a beautiful show and MissC enjoyed getting a ride on daddy's shoulders!

We had another visit with CG & DW and MissC yesterday - they drove up and we met at Disneyland! We all have season passes, and before we are blocked out for the summer season they wanted to bring MissC up one more time! It was soooo fun! It was beautiful weather and the park wasn't too crowded! We rode Dumbo and the Merry-go-Round and Small World even got to meet the princesses! It was a super day!

While we were waiting for our table for dinner in California Adventure Sean Astin and his group walked by and up the stairs to the roof-top restaurant and a few minutes later Valerie Bertinelli and her group showed up too!! Disney provides escorts for the famous types - so no one bothered them - after all they were just families enjoying the day at the park too! But it was kind of fun to see someone we actually recoginzed!

So back to work today - Let's see - what are we going to do for our next "play-day"??!!

Cruisin' to Panama

2007-04-11T13:17:00.000-06:00

Well, we are back from our cruise and we had such a great time!! We flew to Miami, Florida, had a relaxing evening in our hotel and shuttled off to the pier the next morning to go aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas. There was 14 of us and 3 cabins had a balcony and 4 had nice big windows. Our balconies were on the deck above the life boats and just in front of that lifeboat closest to the front of the ship. The windows cabins were right below that lifeboat!

We all had lunch together at the buffet, then went our separate ways to explore and unpack. Every afternoon around 5 several of us gathered in a lounge area where we could enjoy the view out the big windows and relax before we went into the dining room for dinner. This is my mom, her cruising buddy "L" and hubby the first night out.

No matter where we all went during the day, we all met for dinner every night in the main dining room - the food was great and our waiter and asst. waiter were just great! Every evening we had super entertainment in the big theater and we all met together to enjoy that too!

I decided I wanted to try the rock climbing wall on the ship - so hubby and I "geared up" and we did it! Hubby went right up and rang the bell at the top like he did it every day! I took a bit longer - it was harder than I thought it would be - but I made it and rang that bell!! It was fun - I don't know if I'll every try it again, but I did it!!

Our first 2 days were at sea and by the 2nd day we had relaxed sufficiently to really enjoy a deck chair and a good book instead of rushing from one activitity to the next! I was particularly fond of the solarium - no wind, plenty of sun, but not too hot - - I spent many lovely hours there over the course of our 5 sea days!! The guys could usually be found in the solarium playing cards - they had a great time!

Aruba was deserty - not what I expected. I guess the resorts are probably pretty - the beaches were beautiful white sand - but not someplace I would go out of the way to visit again. We did go to a butterfly farm on a tour - interesting!! I had no idea there were so many types and colors of butterflies!! They were beautiful!

The Panama Canal was amazing! We woke up early and watched the process from our balconies, with coffee, fruit and sweet rolls provided by room service! Our 3 balcony rooms were in a row, so we were all together and it was great!! It took about 2.5 hours once we were hooked up to the "mules" (engines that pull the ships through the locks). We were the largest class of ship that can go through and although we had about 17 feet in front and behind us, there was only 2 feet on either side! The mules kept us perfectly centered! There was a cargo ship that went up in the set of locks right beside us, so we could see how they handled that ship - It was facinating!! We went through the 3 locks on the east side of Panama and into Gatun lake where we went off the ship to go on sightseeing tours. The ship cruised around the lake, then went back out on the Caribbean side where our tours delivered us at the end of the day. Each port offered tours and since we only had a day in each, and they were foreign countries, we all took tours. Our group was usually split on their interests and at the end of each day we had several tours to share about.

The next day was Costa Rica and it is beautiful!! I think it was my favorite of the 4 countries we visited. This is where 9 of us went on the Crazy Monkey Canopy Tour! As promised - here are pictures! Here is mom getting hooked into her gear, and mom and hubby getting ready to climb up to the first platform! You can see the first level, the stairs to the 2nd level, and what you can't see is the 3rd level 60 feet in the air!!! Climbing those ladders was the scariest, although we were always hooked to safety lines and there was no chance of falling off. Once we were at the top the guy (or gal) hooked us to the cable and off we went to the next platform! There were 13 platforms and 12 spans - the shortest 60 feet, the longest over 400. I came very close to bad words looking down from that first platform, but since hubby and my 83-yr old mom had just gone before me I had to do it too!! Sliding on the cable was great - it felt very safe and flying through the treetops was incredible!! We would land on a platform, then climb up to the upper platform and take off again! The was a guy to make sure we landed safely, and another one who hooked us up to go again! Since I had the camera and followed mom, these pictures are of her not me! One of the "send-off" guys took a movie of me with my camera, but I can't figure out how to post it!!

We had another relaxing sea day then arrived at Grand Cayman - The sky was beautiful and the sea is the most incredible color there - several colors of turquoise and so clear that when we went snorkeling I could see the SeaPass card that had come out of hubby's bathing suit pocket and had settled on the sandy bottom 40 feet below! One of the guys from the snorkel boat dove down and got it! Whew!! - that was his security card to get back on the ship!! I think his angel guided me over there - I saw a 5-ft tarpin and followed it, looked down and saw a card. The water was so crystal clear I could see that it had our ship's logo on it, but didn't realize it was his til we got back on the ship. I told him what I had found and he patted his pocket and it was empty! Thank goodness it didn't fall out over the caves that dotted the nearby coral reef!! Here's mom, L and I getting ready to snorkle!

Our last day was a sea day going back to Miami. It was funny, before we left, some of the guys were apprehensive about spending 10 days on a cruise ship - they were afraid they might be bored! But on that 10th day we were all ready to turn around and do it again!! It was a wonderful trip!!

Now mom and L and hubby and I are looking forward to an Alaskan cruise with Morning Glory, the Dr, their daughter Beth and her hubby in July!! Yippee - I love practicing for retirement!!

Parenting Different Personalities

2007-04-10T10:27:00.000-06:00

My goodness - it's been a long while since I actively parented. My boys both left home when they started college at 17 & 18 respectively, and with the execption of 1 summer for the younger, they never lived at home again!

I remember being amazed at how different 2 boys could be. I have 1 brother, so in my family we were different of course, because we were different sexes. But I was blown away at how different 2 of the same sex could be! I used a lot of humor with my guys - I am only 5'4" and my boys are 6'4 and 6'1", and they reached those heights fairly young. So the picture of me trying to physically restrain them after a while got pretty funny! Computer Guy would just hold my hands so I couldn't chase him with a wooden spoon and look at me with a smirk and tell me that it was time to settle down!! Humor and exaggeration of the consequences seemed to be a better path. I can remember sometimes telling them (possibly loudly!) that until they cleaned their rooms up I was done cooking - even if it took several days!! Since they were growing boys this got their attention!! They usually took care of their rooms fairly quickly!! I also gave them time frames - before dinner; before bed - that way I didn't have to nag - it usually worked! I was the mom however, I was the boss - they just didn't realize I was ultimately winning!

Once they got to Jr High I taught them to sort and do their own laundry. (This was wonderful for me and they did a really good job after they learned how!) Doing that and putting away the clean clothes were part of their chores. Dog p*op and sweeping the pool were the other main ones. I had summers off, so we went to the beach a lot - and during the first week after school let out, just when they had hit their lazy summer stride - we would always have the "Summer-will-be-horrible-if-you-don't-pitch-in" session. The deal was they did their chores first thing and then we would have fun!! No chores = no fun. I always put a lot of energy into this session, because I wanted to go play, and if I had to stay home and nag about chores it would be awful for everyone!!

As they got older and were driving, (yes, we bought them their first cars - older of course, but we both needed ours and having their own cars gave them opportunity to develop more responsibility!) they had to make us some promises. First, curfew was negotiable depending on the activity, but if their faces weren't in the house by 11 on the weekend, their voice needed to be on the phone telling us why, where they were, and what time they would be home. (As they got older they informed us they expected the same courtesy from us if they were home and we were out!!) Second, if they did something stupid and decided to drink they were NOT to drive home. They were to call, and no matter what shape they were in or where they were we would come get them with no punishment. They never took us up on that, but we were serious.

Computer Guy was first and easy - ok pregnancy and an easy kid. He was a cuddly, happy-go-lucky child and although we had the normal "head-butting" it usually resolved itself pretty quickly. A couple of swats (yes, I spanked) usually did the trick - putting him in his room was no big deal, he would just crawl on his bed and take a nap! As he grew older I could figure him out fairly easily - I could tell when he was telling me a tale, or if he had done something wrong. He was happy to hang out with family and although he was excited to go away to college, I think if we had tried to talk him out of it we might have kept him close to home a couple more years. It was so great for him to go when he did though, and he just blossomed! His personal growth and maturity was wonderful to see over the next 4 years! He developed an amazing talent with the guitar and sang in a band for several years during and after college. It was so fun to go and watch the group play - they were loud (we did take ear plugs!), but they were SOOOO GOOD!! We loved it!!

He has continued to grow and become an amazing man. He is a wonderful dad to his little girl and from my perspective, a terriffic husband! Darling Wife seems to think so too!! He is active in his church and is a loyal caring man, who will go many miles for his friends.

VP was 2nd - a "sicker" pregnancy (and THE LAST! - I was not a good pregnant lady!) and from day 1 had a more focused personality. He had his own idea how things should be done and went to great lengths to make his point. Swats never fazed him, but putting him in his bedroom was the worst and he would lay on the floor with his face at the bottom of the door and cry loudly so I could tell how upset he was!! Since he hated being in there he would of course, try to get out - so I would sit on the floor and hold the doorknob til he gave up. That was quite a picture - me on the floor in the hall holding the doorknob, VP on the other side trying the door then crying loudly with his mouth to the crack below the door just to make sure I knew he was angry!! Sometimes the whole situation would get me laughing and it was a real chore to make sure he didn't hear me!! I had a harder time reading him - and could never tell if he was really sick on a school morning or if he just needed more sleep. Sometimes he actually laid around all day, sometimes he had a miraculus healing by about noon!

He had pretty strong ideas of how he should be parented, and he and I butted heads when my (yes - also strong) ideas differed!! Sometimes we compromised, sometimes we just had to agree to disagree!! Hubby and he were more often on the same wave length, and could usually talk things through easier! Along with his strong will, he also developed a compassionate side and many nights as he grew up, he and his friends would gather in the jacuzzi in the back yard and he would "counsel" them! We listened in a few times and his advice was usually pretty good!

After he was in high school and I was working full time, he would call me to find out what I had planned for dinner. If he didn't "approve" he would volunteer to bbq chicken instead - which was grand - I didn't have to cook after all! He could hardly wait to leave for college, and although he came home 1 summer to work as an interim youth pastor at our church, my "mothering" was pretty much over by then. He married the week before graduation, and although that relationship is challenging, his tenacious personality has served him well. He is a wonderful, loving dad and husband and has faced the challenges in his marriage with a maturity and wisdom that sometimes takes our breath away.

Being a mom was great - I loved it! I loved that I was able to stay home with them, have a snack ready when they got home from school, and drive them to their sports practices. I had fun with them - we went to the beach, parks, out for ice cream cones and laid on the grass and watched the clouds. We went on ski trips and camping trips and baseball games. Our house was where the other kids gathered to swim and they gathered often. We were very active with our church, and the majority of their friends were in the same church. Our faith was (and is) a huge part of our lives and they really never rebelled over being at church. They are both Christians, married Christians and are raising their families in loving Christian churches. I raised 2 men I am enormously proud of and I have no regrets that I didn't have a career!

I'm not sure if I covered how, exactly, I parented - other than what I wrote. I just loved them and prayed for them a lot - - still do!

In This Skin

2007-03-13T13:56:00.000-06:00

Since I only have today and tomorrow before we leave on vacation (yea!) I just don't have time to really post - but this one does get my thoughts going!! So I'll take just a few minutes!

I have a little sign near my sink that says, "If you haven't grown up by age 50 you don't have to". It's here on my blog too. I take this as state of mind not a level of maturity!! I do hope that as I breezed past 50 and am knocking on 60's gate that I have a certain maturity that leaves me a little wiser! But there is that other side - the side that has folks wondering if you were ever young! I don't want anyone to wonder that about me!! The inside of me sometimes is taken back by the face in the mirror - a few wrinkles, not such a tight jaw line any more - and we won't even talk about thighs or fanny!! I do not wear bikinis any more. But I still only feel about 30 on the inside! Sometimes I look at some ladies that are my age and up, and I wonder if I look as old to you as they look to me!!

I love to sit on the floor and play with my granddaughter and my granddog! I love ice cream cones and water balloons and taking a hike or riding a bike. I love tennys and jeans and letting the wind mess up my hair. I love to walk fast and swing on the swings at the park. I love to skip. I love to ski and travel, and I don't want to ever hear me say, "Oh, I'm too old for that", unless I am referring to low cut mini skirts and midrift baring tops!! HA!! I want to be one of those folks who has friends in all different age groups and the younger ones won't think of me as OLD!! I love to have FUN!!

We are about to leave on a cruise that will stop in Costa Rica and Hubby and I are going to do a zip-line tour of the rain forest - - and folks, my 82-year old mom wants to do it too!!! You have to climb some stairs and wear a harness that hooks to a cable and you slide along the cable from one platform to the other as you work your way through the tree-tops. I am afraid of heights - but I really don't want to miss this!! She feels the same way - after all, when will this opportunity come again!! So we are doing it with a few other adventureous members of our group. The rest are taking a little less breathless ground tour!

So I use my Mary Kay (It is really good stuff even if you don't care for "the Ladies"!) and watch my weight and excercise and take my vitamins and hopefully when I am 82 I will still be doing all the fun things I want to do too - just like my mom!

Amazing Tulips

2007-02-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

This just amazes me! Tulips grow in the vase after they are cut!! Look closely at the 2 pictures - I tried to get them about the same size. The red tulips are about 1.5 inches longer and the pink ones have grown by about 2 inches!! The first picture on the top was taken Wednesday morning, and I just took the 2nd one (on the bottom) at lunch time on Friday. Pretty neat - huh?

Happy Valentines Day and More

2007-02-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

I do love Valentine's Day! Because it is a day to especially honor the one you love and do fun things for them!

My dear hubby always sends me flowers and I love that! He always send them a day early so they greet me in my office when I walk in on Valentine's Day!

This is what he sent me this year. I LOVE tulips, so that's what he sent! They look so pretty this morning in their bright red vase, and since tulips continue to grow after they are put in water, they will be taller and larger by the end of the week when I take them home! Thanks Babe!! I love them!!!

On another totally unrelated topic (my mind works this way - sorry!), I have a new tattoo! Oh - it's not anywhere on my bod - I think I'd feel silly doing that! I had my eyebrows tattooed on! I have really blonde eyebrows and they never lasted all day when I would pencil them on in the morning. I have had my eyeliner tatooed on for about a year (LOVE that!!) and since the permanent makeup place I go to had a sale in January, what was I to do??!! I went and had my eyeliner touched up and added eyebrows! It is fun to wake up in the morning and have part of my face already on!!

I Sure Do Miss . . .

2007-02-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

my Dishmaster!! For 30 years I had a Dishmaster for my kitchen sink faucet. (Sorry about the link - I couldn't get the picture to post!) It was not sleek or stylish, but it worked sooooo well!! You put the dish soap in the container on the top and when you press the button on the brush handle soapy water comes out. You release the button and clear water runs. It had a smallish brush head that fit into everything and made quick work of washing everything without getting my hands in the soapy water! I had to replace it one time - so not only was it incredibly handy - it was durable.

I now live in an apartment - it is not mine, therefore my needs are not taken into consideration when choosing a kitchen sink faucet. What I have is probably the cheapest faucet on the market - it sits low in the sink, so getting pans under it to rinse is a pain. I removed the metal nozzle and put this attractive rubber thing on it so I can at least direct the stream of water. Then I attempted to purchase a suitable replacement for my dishmaster. I started with that brush thing - it holds soap and the brush is interchangable with a spongy pad thing. The pad came apart from its holder after about a week, so I put the brush head on. It is HUGE - it is also stiff and misses most of what I want it to scrub off before dishes go into the dishwasher!! It does not fit into anything - and since the soap goes in on the side of the handle and leaks, the handle was always covered with dry dish soap!! I quit putting soap in it and that sort of defeated the purpose! SO - - I purchased the thing with the pad on it - nice little scrubby thing - holds soap, looks handy - soap goes in from the end, and does not leak. It unfortunately does not come out the scrubby end EITHER!!! Well, I take that back - after I hold the sponge under water then use my fingers and squish the pad 10 or 15 times I can get some soapyness to appear on the sponge!! It is very stiff, and because of that does not fit into many things!! It does an acceptable job on totally flat items - crummy on things with a curve!! SO -- I purchased that attractive red thing - it dispenses dish soap and has a little slot for a sponge, that I use when the brush and the round scrubby don't fit and I'm feeling the need to get my hands wet and soapy!!!!!!!!

I've done a little research and discovered that Dishmaster has come up with a new model - they put the soap holder under the sink and make the whole unit more updated. Check this one out - now we're talkin'!! Hubby and I will (hopefully) be installing this one shortly after we move in to our home up north!! (I say hopefully, because there are certain hole measurments that it needs to have - hopefully they are what my sink has!!)

You are probably shaking your head in amazement that an intelligent woman could pine for a Dishmaster - and I don't blame you for that! But it's true - I reeeeaaaaally dooooo miss it!!

Sharing the Love

2007-01-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

Oh my - sometimes something comes across the email that just makes your morning - this is one of those times! I could forward it to a couple of friends or stick it out here for you all to enjoy!! So - - Enjoy!!

The other day I went up to a local Christian bookstore and saw a "Honk if You Love Jesus" bumper sticker. I was feeling particularly sassy that day because I had just come from a thrilling choir performance, followed by a thunderous prayer meeting, so I bought the sticker and put it on my bumper.
Later, after I picked up my grandson from school, I was stopped at a red light at a busy intersection, just lost in thought about the Lord and how good He is and I didn't notice that the light had changed. It is a good thing someone else loves Jesus because if he hadn't honked, I'd never have noticed!
I found that LOTS of people love Jesus. Why, while I was sitting there, the guy behind started honking like crazy, and then he leaned out of his window and screamed, "for the love of God, GO! GO!" What an exuberant cheerleader he was for Jesus! Everyone started honking! I just leaned out of my window and started waving and smiling at all these loving people. I even honked my horn a few times to share in the love.
There must have been a man from Florida back there because I heard him yelling something about a sunny beach... I saw another guy waving in a funny way with only his middle finger stuck up in the air. When I asked my teenage grandson in the back seat what that meant, he said that it was probably a Hawaiian good luck sign or something.
Well, I've never met anyone from Hawaii, so I leaned out the window and gave him the good luck sign back. My grandson burst out laughing, why - even he was enjoying this religious experience! A couple of the people were so caught up in the joy of the moment that they got out of their cars and started walking towards me.
I bet they wanted to pray or ask what church I attended, but this is when I noticed the light had changed. So, I waved to all my sisters and brothers, and grinning, drove on through the intersection. I noticed I was the only car that got through the intersection before the light changed again and I felt kind of sad that I had to leave them after all the love we had shared, so I slowed the car down, leaned out of the window and gave them all the Hawaiian good luck sign one last time as I drove away.
Praise the Lord for such wonderful folks!

Another Trip North

2007-01-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

We headed north again in early January to visit Morning Glory and the Dr - and to check on our retirement home! We had a great time - the weather was cold but not stormy and it was a super weekend! We really enjoy their church - it will be ours too when we move! We also stopped in to see Queen Beth and the Royal family and Karen Tradeoff and a couple of the little Tradeoffs! The new little guy is adorable!

One of the days we drove up to the local ski area - the road up is VERY turny and twisty but the views off to the side were wonderful! We looked around the ski lodge and had lunch, then the clouds started dropping a bit of snow and since we didn't have chains it was time to head down the hill! As you can tell it was cold - but really pretty! We are looking forward to skiing here when we finally live close! I'm thinking season passes!! As we were driving down the mountain, the blue sky reappeared and the view out over the valley was just incredible!!

That night the moon was especially pretty - so I went out on the front lawn to balance my camera on the tree branch and the frozen grass crunched under my feet!! That was not something this California girl has ever experienced!! I thought it was neat!! Morning Glory just laughed!

We took several drives past our house - we didn't want to bother our renter - so we just "lurked"!! The fence we put in a few months ago looked good, but the bright white of the fence sure made the pale trim on the house look dingy! With the winter grass and the leafless tree everything looked pretty bland! We decided we will have some planting and painting to do when we move in!! The park was all in behind the house - grass, trees and a walking path along the creek! We have now set mid June, 2008 to be our move-in target! It seems like a long time - but if the last year is any indication - the time will fly by!!

Not to be outdone by Morning Glory's Sunrise/Sunset site - this was the sunset from my office window the evening of the day after we returned! Oh my - the view can be great on a clear day - I can see the islands off the coast of SoCal! But this sunset was one of the best I can remember from this window!!

Wow! 2 posts in 2 days!! This has got to be some sort of record for me!! Tee-hee!! Happy weekend friends!

Christmas - FINALLY!

2007-01-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness - where does the time go? It is almost the end of January, and I just got my Christmas pictures off my camera and into my computer yesterday!!

It seems a little funny to be talking about Christmas at this "late" date - but some of the pictures were so good - I just had to go back and share!! There is just something so grand about children at Christmas!! Having granddaughters is such a blast!! We went down to San Diego on Christmas Eve and went to a Christmas service then dinner with Darling Wife's family - they are a fun bunch - we really had a good time!

This is MissC all dressed up for Christmas eve - and getting a hug from Poppie. At dinner she got a bit bored, so she spent some time with dad's headphones and a music cd!

We went back to Computer Guy and DW's house and MissC went to bed. We had such a good time catching up and drinking hot cocoa with homemade peppermint marshmallows!! It was sooooo wonderful!!

Mom and hubby and I stayed in a hotel close by and came back in the morning for presents! MissC got her Christmas Morning Jamies on and we took our places for "Santa CG" to hand out presents! This is hubby, and DW's brother - and notice the "grand-dog" Cooper - all ready!

Of course we all bought waaaay too many presents for MissC - we'll be more contained next year - she wore herself out opening presents and took a little rest on her "Dora the Explorer Ready-Bed"! (Too cute! - it is a little sleeping bag with the air mattress built in!) She opened a few more, then we got the 4-generation picture in before she passed out on Nana's shoulder!

Not to be left out of course - Cooper got his present and was delighted! It was a huge rawhide bone in the shape of a candy cane!

We had a wonderful late breakfast and headed back to Mom's house about 1.5 hours north. We had a wonderful prime rib dinner that evening and Dave and Jeanne (of Hawaii condo fame) and their son joined us!

Christmas was very different this year - CG and DW wanted to start their Christmas morning tradition for MissC at their house and it was so fun! But it was also different because this was the first Christmas without daddy! It was odd not to have him there, so it was good to something new and different - it made his absence seem not quite so "loud".

I'm Still Here!

2007-01-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

Hi Ya'll - I just wanted to let you know that I haven't given up on blogging - and I have some adorable Christmas pictures of MissC to post (when I have time to download them from my camera)!! The last few weeks here at work have been hectic! I don't have a computer at home, so any blogging has to be done before work or at lunch - - and the past few weeks I have started early and worked through most lunches! (I'm exempt from overtime - darn!) I have lurked around some of your blogs when I just needed a few minutes break in the afternoon - but haven't even done much commenting!

All the spreadsheets for the upcoming audits and contributions and payouts are almost done (yea!!) so maybe in the next week or so I'll have time to do this fun stuff!

Check here occasionally - "Ah'll be baack"!
Grandi

Christmas Letter

2006-12-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

This is good - With all the uproar over Christmas and what folks wish you - it gives us something to think about! This came to me on email this morning and I'll share it here!

Letter from Jesus about Christmas --
Dear Children,

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn'tactually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival.

Although I do appreciate being remembered any time. How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of being one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list, choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.
2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.
3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. It doesn't make any difference how you voted, he is your president and needs Me. Then do it - it will be nice hearing from you again.
4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.
5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.
6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try being kind and give everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.
7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with Me and their families.
8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary--especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.
9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.
10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love, and remember I LOVE YOU.

JESUS

The Finished Project

2006-12-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I am SO proud of myself! I made a pair of socks!! Thank you to Jenn at knit 'n lit for the inspiration! If you have never visited her site, stop by - her collection of hand knit socks is amazing! She knits a lot of other beautiful things too - but the socks intrigued me! I asked her for a book recommendation and she gave me one, so off I went! I started using 4 needles, then went to 5 and was about to trash the whole project, then as a last ditch effort switched to 2 short round needles and that was the ticket for me! There just wasn't enough room for my fingers and all those little short needles in one place!

This is Regina bamboo yarn knit on #2 needles - I have them on today for the first time and they are really comfy! I have short feet, so finding socks that don't hang off the toes is rare. These fit just perfect! About half way through the first sock with all those needles I was pretty sure I was never going to make another pair - but after I changed to the round needles the 2nd sock went so quickly I may just do it again!! That is a good thing - because by the time I bought the needles (a package of double pointed bamboo ones and 2 round ones the wrong size and 2 the right size) and the book, not to mention the yarn, this 1 pair cost a bundle! Every time I use those needles again to make more socks that takes the price per sock down - if I make a lot it will eventually come down to a more reasonable price per pair!

Hubby just laughed - when we moved to the apartment I was determined not to have too many projects because there is just not a lot of extra space - - but here I go starting new things! At least yarn and needles don't take up toooo much space!!

My 9 Weird Things

2006-11-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I got quite a chuckle over this from Morning Glory and Queen Beth - So I decided to join in the fun!

9 Weird Things About Me

1. My left foot is larger than my right - it's a 6 wide, right is 6 medium. Makes buying shoes interesting! Slip-ons usually just don't cut it, and with boots I have to wear 2 socks on the right foot so my foot doesn't slip!

2. My little fingers both curve in at the last joint. Not from arthritis, I was just born that way! First thing I checked on my granddaughters is to see if they had crooked little fingers - now I can't remember if they did or not!!

3. Because my first name is unisex and I didn't use my middle name, I was assigned to boy's gym the first day of Jr High! From then on I filled out forms with my middle name "Annette" showing!

4. I organize all my drawers - my underwear drawer has all the undies rolled and put in rows by color. My sox all line up in rows in their drawer so I can see the colors without messing up the rest. I also organize the tops and jackets in my closet by sleeve length, then color!

5. I discovered, when we moved, that I own more than 100 pair of earrings - I wear the same silver hoops about 99% of the time!

6. I hate my car being messy inside - doesn't bother me a bit if someone else's is messy - just makes me crazy if mine is!

7. I am not athletic, and I don't feel I am very competitive, but I am really into weight training at the gym and I love to feel that strength in my legs when I crouch down and can stand up easily! I also LOVE to snow ski and feel great competition with myself to improve even as I am getting older. I picture myself being more physically active and maybe walking in distance events when I am not working and have more time.

8. If I had the opportunity, I would love to work on an archeological dig - I don't care where - the process has always facinated me.

9. I enjoy being by myself - I like to sew, read or shop - and I usually don't turn on tv or music if I am home by myself during the day. I am not unnerved by silence. I do turn on the tv however, if I am home by myself at night - if for nothing else than to mark the passage of time.

There! 9 things! - - You know - I guess I am not all that weird for the most part after all!! HA!!

Another Fun Meme

2006-11-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

I found this one over at The Sassy Lime It looked like fun, so here goes:

A is for age: 58
B is for beer of choice: root - especially diet with a tiny bit of cream - tastes just like a root beer float only lo-cal!
C is for career: Currently - Human Resources and Benefits Administrator
D is for your dog's name: none any more, but my last one was a black American cocker named Nikki
E is for essential item you use everyday: computer, coffee maker, electric toothbrush.
F is for favorite tv show at the moment: I love NCIS and The Unit. I also love any cooking, decorating, and remodeling show I can find!
G is for favorite game: I love card games - but don't enjoy when it gets "cutthroat"
H is for Hometown: Tustin, CA
I is for instruments you play: I tried the piano - 3 years of lessions - just couldn't make my fingers behave! I sing instead!
J is for favorite juice: cranberry juice
K is for things that drive you krazy: people who misspell they're/their/and there and you're/your. And putting apostrophies where they don't belong! That drives me bonker's (See - like that!)
L is for last place you ate: my desk, Medifast diet bar for lunch.
M is for marriage: 38 years and I still really like him!
N is for your name: Grandi will do!
O is for overnight hospital stay: 4 - one to have surgery to get pregnant, 2 babies and a gall bladder!
P is for people you were with today: my husband before work and my work mates.
Q is for quote: from my dad "Mind over matter - if you don't mind it doesn't matter"
R is for biggest regret: not too many really - probably that I didn't keep my weight under control better when I was younger.
S is for sport: love to watch gymnastics, skating and golf sometimes
T is for time you woke up today: 5 am - to walk, have my quiet time and be ready to leave for work a little after 7.
U is for current underwear: Yup - I'm wearing mine!
V is for vegetable you love: nearly all veggies. I love big salads and brussels sprouts, and green beans, artichokes, asparagas - about the only one I won't eat is okra!
W is for something you have won: not too many things - but recently, 2 Disneyland passes - took our son, daughter in law and granddaughter with us! Fun day!
X is for x-rays you have had: well my teeth, but also knees, hand and mamograms.
Y is for yummy food you ate today: the piece of Holloween candy I ate after my diet bar for lunch!
Z is for zodiac: I'm a gemini, but I really stay away from that stuff - I'd rather put my trust in God!

Ok - your turn! Let me know if you played!

Trip To Walmart

2006-11-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Terry - She sent this to me and I just had to share it!

Mr. and Mrs. Fenton are retired, and Mrs. Fenton insists her husband go with her to Wal-Mart. He gets so bored with all the shopping trips. He prefers to get in and get out, but Mrs. Fenton loves to browse. One day Mrs. Fenton gets this letter from Wal-Mart:

Dear Mrs. Fenton,
Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and may ban both of you from our stores. We have documented all incidents on our video surveillance equipment. All complaints against Mr. Fenton are listed below.

Things Mr. Bill Fenton has done while his spouse was shopping in Wal-Mart:

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in House wares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the ladies rest rooms.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official tone, 'Code 3' in house wares..... and watched what happened.

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and asked to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.

6. September 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. September 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they'll bring pillows from the bedding department.

8. September 23: When a clerk asks if they can help him, he begins to cry and asks, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

9. October 4: Looked right into the security camera; used it as a mirror, and picked his nose.

10. November 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, asked the clerk if he knows where the antidepressants are.

11. December 3: Darted around the store suspiciously loudly humming the "Mission Impossible" theme.

12. December 6: In the auto department, practiced his "Madonna look" using different size funnels.

13. December 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browse through, yelled "PICK ME!" "PICK ME!"

14. December 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumes the fetal position and screams "NO! NO! It's those voices again!!!!"

And last, but certainly not least .. ;

15. December 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, "There is no toilet paper in here!"

The Cost of A Child

2006-10-23T15:36:00.000-06:00

This is just too good not to share!

I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

ut $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into: $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich."

Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?
Let's look - -

Naming rights - First, middle, and last!

Glimpses of God every day.

Giggles under the covers every night.

More love than you ever dreamed your heart could hold.

Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.

A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.

A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites and making snow angels.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:

finger-paint,

carve pumpkins,

play hide-and-seek,

cuddle under the covers on a stormy night,

catch lightning bugs,

and never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:

keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,

watching Saturday morning cartoons,

going to Disney movies,

and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay on Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day. For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for:

retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,

taking the training wheels off a bike,

removing a splinter,

filling a wading pool,

coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs,

and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the:

first step, first word,

first bra,

first date,

and first time behind the wheel.

You get to be a little bit immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, logistics, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God.

You have all the power to:

heal a boo-boo with a kiss,

scare away the monsters under the bed,

patch a broken heart,

police a slumber party,

ground them forever,

and

love them without limits.

So, one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is actually quite a deal!

Disneyland!

2006-10-18T10:05:00.000-06:00

I finally got my camera to work and time to download the pictures on the same day! Blogger wouldn't load as many as I wanted, but I got some of them in!!

A couple of weeks ago we took Computer Guy, Darling Wife and MissC to Disneyland to celebrate birthdays! We have season passes and won 1-day passes in a raffle, so we could all go - it was such a fun day! Disneyland was packed that day - Yom Kippur, we found out is a Los Angeles City Schools holiday! Oh well - the weather was beautiful and we had a super time in spite of the crowds. The park had just been decorated for Halloween, and although I am not a Halloween fan all the pumpkin stuff was really cute!

MissC was feeling a little puny that day, I think she had a slight fever and a little runny nose - maybe more teeth? She wasn't fussy, just not as perky as she normaly is! So we went with the day and showed her all the sights anyway! (You can see why hubby teases CG about being his bodyguard - he got all the height in the family!)

The view from daddy's shoulders was a lot better than down in the stroller!

We started in California Adventure and rode the carousel and saw that park first, had lunch there then went into the Disneyland side and spent the rest of the day there. There were so many people we didn't ride a lot of things, but we went on Small World - MissC liked that, then she slept through most of Pirates of the Caribbean - the line was long, so it seemed like a good time for a nap! We went out of the park into Downtown Disney for an early dinner - in California they are right next to each other. She perked up a bit at dinner time and was being silly with mommy - (this is not a mad face) - they were playing!

After dinner we went back into the park and saw the parade - NOW MissC came alive! She LOVED all the lights and colors and the music and dancing!! We finished the night with coffee and dessert on Main Street.

CG & DW decided to use the free passes we had to turn in on season passes - so they just had to pay the difference which wasn't bad at all! We have already made plans with them to go again in a couple of months! Miss C will enjoy it more when she is not feeling poorly and we will pick a day that is not a holiday for anyone so the crowds will be down! It will be past Halloween then and all the Christmas decorations will be up - that always makes the parks even prettier!

It was such a fun day - what an adorable family they are!! We are blessed!

To Those Born 1930 - 1979

2006-10-17T09:50:00.000-06:00

I've seen this several times, and it always makes me laugh - so I will share it with you! My goodness - all this and we DID survive!!

We are the kids who survived the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking when we got older.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. If we were lucky enough to have a soft drink we shared it with four friends, all drinking from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because we were always outside playing!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then we'd ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot about the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, in fact - no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no IMing, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms....... We just had our friends and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, occasionally broke bones and no one sued anyone else. Our friends signed our white plaster casts and we were the hero!

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We built treehouses and forts with hammers and nails and scrap lumber, not with kits from the mega home center.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays; made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out our eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just called out and walked in! We talked face to face - not on a computer.

If we did something bad at a friend's house, their mom would scold us, and our parents didn't sue them.

We got spanked when we deserved it and had our mouths washed out with soap when we said bad words and no one thought of turning their parents in for abuse.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

Our teachers were not our babysitters and we were expected to behave. If we got into trouble at school, we were in for more trouble at home.

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility - and we are not perfect - but we learned how to deal with most things!

If you were born in these years . . . I salute you! If you were born later - it's ok to let your kids experience freedom, failure, success and responsibility - learning these things first hand is a good thing!

60 Things About Me

2006-10-11T14:21:00.000-06:00

Well, I have finally passed that mile marker that you all passed so long ago! I have posted 50 blogs! Well, 60 - actually counting this one! It seems to be the tradition to do a "Things About Me" blog when you hit these milestones - so here goes - all 60 of them!

1. I am a 3rd generation native Californian
2. My horse lived in my backyard for about 10 years starting when I was in 7th grade, and I rode in the hills behind my house almost every day.
3. I love classical music
4. If I had the opportunity, I would go and live in England for 6 months or so
5. My first car was a 1959 Studebaker Lark - turquoise
6. The scar on my arm is from scraping the pavement with it when the go-kart my brother and I made turned too sharp because the steering wasn't finished and the seat wasn't nailed down and I wanted to test it anyway going down our hill when I was 13
7. I went deep-sea fishing with my grandfather 3 times - caught my fish, then got seasick every time
8. I don't do rollercoasters - or anything remotely like them
9. I have best friends - and I am blessed to have them
10. I have been married to the same man for 38 years
11. I love to body surf or boogey board in the ocean
12. I had to have surgery in order to get pregnant
13. It worked and after 2nd son was born, had surgery to not get pregnant!
14. I love to put a bit of heavy cream over ice and add diet root beer - tastes just like a float!
15. I love to sew
16. I hate doing alterations
17. I tried being a "seamstress", did NOT like sewing for other women!
18. I love making quilts
19. I took a pottery class in 1990 and got hooked - I have taken a ceramics class every semester at the local community college since then.
20. I am not an artist by "brain" - but I love the process of shaping the clay on the wheel
21. I offer to take pictures of folks with their camera if they want a picture of themselves together
22. My husband and friends laugh at me for doing this!
23. I am a mother-in-law
24. I cringe when girls talk about hating their mother-in-laws
25. I really loved my mother and father in law - they are gone now - I miss them
26. I love to take walks in pretty places
27. I could sit and watch and/or listen to water moving or a fire burning for hours
28. I love the taste of coffee - and will drink it even if it has been in the pot for a while, or has gotten cold in the cup.
29. I keep a book in the car so anywhere I have to wait I have a book to help me do it
30. I can walk/ride the cardio machines at the gym for a long time if I have something to read - if not, I can't do more than about 10 minutes
31. I think I am mildly ADD
32. I am easily distracted - but can keep track of several tasks at the same time
33. I love to go camping & hiking
34. I am NOT fond of spiders
35. Snakes don't bother me
36. Mosquitos and fleas usually don't bite me
37. I love big fireworks displays
38. I used to have a vegetable garden - I'm looking forward to having the time to have one again
39. I have had lasic on my eyes - twice - I can see - Wahoo!!
40. I did not need glasses at all til I was 35 - then slowly progressed to legally blind!
41. I recently bought my 3rd bicycle - a Trek - it's really neat - I should get a helmet
42. My next vehicle will either be another minivan or an SUV - I like being up high and having a lot of space for stuff and people
43. I work on a computer more than 90% of my workday
44. I love to travel
45. I love pretty much any day that I don't have to be sitting at this desk!
46. I love to cook when I have the time
47. I love to do things with my hands, ceramics, sewing, knitting, crocheting
48. I love relaxing before dinner with a glass of red wine and a piece of good cheese
48. I'm sensitive/alergic to most perfumes
49. I like the increasing silver in my hair - and I highlight what's still darker to make it lighter too
50. I am right handed, but use the computer mouse with my left
51. I love my husband
52. I enjoy playing golf and one of these days I'll play more often
53. I can hardly wait to quit work and move out of state and have time for my hobbies.
54. I worked part time for several mortuaries doing hair and makeup while the kids were in school when I was a stay at home mom
55. I hate funerals
56. I love hot & spicy food - pepperoni and jalapeno pepper pizza - yummmm!
57. I love going shopping by myself
58. My favorite way to spend an evening is with friends drinking coffee, and visiting or playing a game
59. I loved being a stay at home mom
60. I work out with a trainer at the gym twice a week

Happy Birthday to You

2006-09-26T13:26:00.000-06:00

Well, Birthday Greetings are in order - My oldest son, Computer Guy has a birthday this week! He will be 32 on Friday! Wow - I can hardly believe that 32 years have gone so quickly! (This picture was of him and MissC at her birthday party 6 months ago!)

We tried to get pregnant for about 6 years before I had to have some corrective surgery - and "taa-daa" - we did it!! We were on tour with the gospel quartet hubby sang with back then and we were in Durango, Colorado where they did an outdooor concert at the home of some friends. I was 7 months pregnant and was very uncomfortable sitting in a folding chair, so I was hanging out at the back with the kids and there was this darling little boy - who's name was C***! He was the cutest kid I had ever seen and later that night I asked hubby if he had noticed him. He had, and right there and then, we had a name for our baby if it was a boy! I sort of "knew" down inside that a boy was coming - we didn't have ultrasound for that sort of thing then!

He has always been a terrific guy; very compassionate, good athlete, loyal friend, consistant christian, incredibly smart with computer stuff, super musician, now loving husband and daddy! It was so fun to watch my kids grow up and become who they are! And such a blessing to see what quality people they have become! CG was my first reason for being a stay-at-home-mom and I never regretted making the choice to quit work and raise my kids. They were so.much.fun!! Oh, we had our time-outs and spankings (yes, I spanked) - but over all I had a great time! Now he is all grown up and has a family of his own - Darling wife and sweet MissC and even a granddog who is a character!

One of the fun things about CG's birthday, is that 4 days later is Darling Wife's birthday! This year we get to celebrate both birthdays by taking them all to Disneyland! It will be MissC's first time so you know we will both have cameras ready! (Providing I can get blogger to post the pictures I'll show you next week!) Hubby and I are taking a day off work and they are driving up to meet us there. We are so excited to see CG and DW of course, but MissC changes so much every time we see her - we can hardly wait! This morning DW emailed me to say that MissC has added the word "pretty" to her vocabulary! Perfect timing - with Disneyland being so pretty!! I hope she can make it to the fireworks - that will really exercise her new word!!

This is a recent picture of her I just can't resist - DW let her pick out her own outfit that day, and this is what she wanted to wear - don't you just want to kiss that face??!!

Tag - I'm It

2006-09-22T13:25:00.000-06:00

Morning Glory tagged me for a little word meaning meme - I'll bite!

Piggy Bank - Not my style - never liked those little guys looking at me!

Yesterday - is gone, but not forgotten, but in some cases needs to be gotten over

Ronald - Well, we call him Ron and he is a dear friend

Rainbows - hmmm - I love looking at them and looking for them, they remind me that God is there, even in the storms.

There! Not too difficult! How about it Tammy, Karen and Beth?

Here are your words:

Mountains
Humor
Candles
Elephant

Any body else want to play? Let me know if you did!

A New Adding Machine

2006-09-21T10:03:00.001-06:00

Oh! The joy of a new adding machine!! Now this might not seem like a joy to you - but I use mine a lot here at work!! My old one never really quit working, but over the last few months has started to blur all the numbers. Not too bad when it was just for my eyes, because I could still see the totals on the screen even if I couldn't quite read all the numbers on the tape. Things changed last week though, the gal who always did the bank deposits moved on to a new company - and since we don't have an accounting department in our office - and since I am HR (and can do darn near everything!) it naturally (?) fell to me!!

"So what?" you say? Well, since I now have to run tapes of all the bookstore sales and the bookshow sales (we sell building code books) I now have to have tapes someone can actually read! I scrubbed the number barrel on my old machine with a toothbrush and a soft cloth - but that actually made it worse - so I broke the news that it was time to retire and I placed my request for a new machine.

I got it this morning - and, WAHOO!!, I (and anyone else that wants to) can really read the numbers!! Not only that but it has a setting so that I can print the date on the top, and it automatically counts the number of items I have just listed! It also prints negative numbers in red and is a lot faster than my old one! I am in adding machine heaven!

I know - it doesn't take much to please some folks - - and that is me today!! It's nice new, clean cover has promped me to clean that area of my (usually messy) desk so I can actually use it without reaching over a (smallish) pile of paperwork! And since today is the day the Brinks truck comes to pick up my deposit, I will be proud of the results on my new machine!! Oh - happy day!!

Neat Stuff

2006-09-19T09:09:00.000-06:00

One of my friends sent me an email with these handy tips. Most of them are new to me - find any you like?

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add the remainder of the ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggie and squeeze mixture into the egg half. Just throw bag away when done - easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers and put layers around the plants overlapping as you go. Cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a dry cotton ball to pick up little broken glass pieces of glass- the fibers catch ones you can't see!

Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Easier thank you's
When you throw a bridal/baby shower, buy a pack of thank you cards for the guest of honor. During the party, pass out the envelopes and have everyone put their address on one. When the bride/new mom sends the thank you cards, the envelopes are all addressed! She also won't have to set some aside for addresses and run the risk of losing them!

MINE!!!!!
If you purchase a new bike for your child, place their picture inside the handle bar before placing the grips on. If the bike is stolen and later recovered, remove the grip and there is your proof who owns the bike.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and - Voila - static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a felt chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair...

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," & can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Take baby powder to the beach
Keep a small bottle of baby powder in your beach bag. When you're ready to leave the beach sprinkle yourself and kids with the powder and the sand will slide right off your skin.

Disclaimer - I have not tried most of these - so if they don't work - Oh well!!

Thursday Babblings 7

2006-09-07T16:28:00.000-06:00

This last couple of weeks have totally flown by!! I looked back to see when I last posted, and it was a LOOONNGG time ago!! I was out a couple of days helping mom with legal stuff. And I had my eyes re-lasered to try to get my distance vision a bit clearer. I now can see to read without my "cheaters", however, that wasn't the plan - and my distance is still fuzzy! I go back in 2 months for a re-check and I don't know if they can laser them again or not! Seeing up close is not all bad though, I am enjoying not having my granny glasses around my neck on a chain! (I know - not a pretty picture, but they were handy that way!!) I was going to have to wear them for up-close anyway, so if I can see everything else pretty well, maybe I'll just wear glasses to drive and call it done! We'll see - I have to keep my eyes very moist with hourly doses of drops, and they will continue to adjust for about 4 months. I would love to have the best of both worlds, and not have to wear any glasses at all, but I can't do mono-vision (one eye for close, the other for distance), so that is probably not in the cards!

Mom is doing very well - she is keeping pretty busy. Her lonelist times are around dinner, so quite often she calls a friend and they do dinner together - either potluck or out. She started back at her art classes today and is excited about the new painting she has started. She started taking classes several years ago and she is VERY good!! She sells them every once in a while and averages $300 - $400 depending on the size!! I feel very lucky to be able to "baby sit" some of them in my apartment! She is doing a 1-woman show next summer that will require her to hang 30 -40 paintings for a month. But I get to keep them til she needs them for that! I should take some photos of them and post them - I'll have to see how they come out!

I am having a "rich" couple of weekends! Last Saturday Computer Guy and Darling Wife came up with Miss C for a visit! We hadn't seen them since July 4th in San Diego and in that short period of time Miss C has certainly bumped up on the cuteness scale!! She is 16 months and her hair is getting long enough to curl around the back of her neck. It's blondish and she has big blue eyes! She had fallen asleep in the car, so DW carried her upstairs and put her on the floor in the guest room with her blankee. We halfway shut the door and were visiting quietly in the living room. About 15 mins later Miss C came out of the bedroom dragging the blankee with the biggest smile on her face! She was SO CUTE!!!

We got the blocks out and she sat and stacked and whacked and stacked again for the longest time! She is such a joy - very happy, and will come to Grandi and Poppy for a kiss without being shy!

After a late lunch we went out to the pool and Miss C loves that too! DW and CG are teaching her to be pool safe - she is a little young for swimming, but is not afraid of the water and was at ease floating on her back! They are very cautious with her anywhere near a pool, but her San Diego cousins have one, so she will learn to swim early!

In the early evening we got ready and went to a 1-year birthday party for Miss McK - another cousin and really good friend. There was probably 60 people there during the evening, and momma served 4-ft long burritos - it was a lot of fun. There were several kidlets there, and they are not totally sure how to play together yet, but it was great fun watching them!

This weekend is going to be fun too! We leave tomorrow morning early to fly to Ohio to see our other granddaughter; Miss T!! Her parents, the VP and his wife (daughter-in-law) have invited hubby and me and my mom to come back for a visit. We haven't seen her in a year, so we can hardly wait!!

I could write a lot about the relationship to explain why so long, but it's not fun to talk about, so I won't! The VP has been lobbying for this for several months however, so we are grateful that DIL said yes!! She loves my mom, so she was delighted that she is coming with us!

We will be staying at a nice hotel just a couple of miles from their house, so the 3 of us will have fun there too! Hubby and I flew back last September when VP was starting the new job and getting the house ready to move in to. We weeded flower beds, ripped up carpeting and stayed out of the way of the guys laying a new tile floor in the kitchen and generally had a really fun time with him! DIL and Miss T flew back about a month later after their SoCal house sold. He told me today that their new patio should be done by noon Friday, so we are anxious to see the house now that it is done and the new patio!

I hope to be able to post some pictures when we get back! Bye til then!

A Friend Returns

2006-09-06T15:38:00.000-06:00

Christina over at Mind Wanderings is back! Be sure to drop by and give her an encouraging word! She is learning some new techniques in child raising!!

Ponder This

2006-08-23T10:44:00.000-06:00

These came on my email from a friend this morning - I thought you might enjoy them like I did!

Have you ever wondered about those people who spend $2.00 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backwards - - it’s NAÏVE!

Isn't making a smoking section in a restaurant like making a peeing section in a swimming pool?

OK..... so if the Jacksonville Jaguars are known as the "Jags" and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are known as the "Bucs," what does that make the Tennessee Titans?

If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea...does that mean that one enjoys it?

If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes?

If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

Why do we park on a driveway and drive on a parkway?

Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale bread to begin with?

Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person who drives a racecar is not called a racist?

Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety-one??

If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks??

What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men??

I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older; then it dawned on me.....They’re cramming for their final exam.

I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little spoons and forks, so I wondered what do Chinese mothers use - Toothpicks??

Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen can look for
them while they deliver the mail?

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others supposed to be doing?

Whatever happened to Preparations A through G?

Next time income tax time approaches, think about this: When you put the two words "The" and "IRS" together, it spells … "THEIRS"

On Friendship

2006-08-22T15:47:00.000-06:00

"A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities." (William Arthur Ward)

Aren't friends grand? This last 2 months (yes, that's how quickly dad went from apparent health to death) friends have been even more special than usual! We always have fun together, but when there is sadness, friendship takes on a new dimension.

There's Kathy - who I have only had occasional contact with in the last 35 years or so, you know, birthday and Christmas cards. We reconnected by email again over the last year - we met in the 5th grade, and she loved my folks and cried with mom and me over my dad's passing. She has been an unexpected source of strength for my mom by sharing how important she and dad were in her life when we were growing up together.

There's Morning Glory - we got the news when were at their house - she and the good Dr supplied hugs and lifted us up that weekend with their love.

Chris and Ron, who had opened their home to us during our homeless days, and are wonderful friends, invited us to stay for dinner the night we got home from the airport - we had to go sign papers with the funeral director - and they loved us and picked our spirits up after a long travel day.

Dave and Jeanne - love my folks and visited dad in the hospital. He didn't especially want folks to come and see him sick. But they came and loved him and cheered him - he and mom both really appreciated their visit. They are dear friends through thick and thin.

Pastor and Jan - they love mom and dad too, and went to see them in the hospital - Pastor has a wonderful voice and he sang an old favorite hymn to my dad. He came again by himself a few days later, to make sure there was no question about daddy going to heaven. That was the best of gifts.

My other good friends; Chris M, Phyllis, Terry, Barb, Mike S - friends who prayed and encouraged and called and emailed and let us know they were there for us. It was so special that our kids were able to come and visit before he got so sick at the end, and those were precious times for him - and us!

And then you - my blog-buddies, with your prayers and your sweet messages of care and concern. I appreciate you all - you lift me up!

38 Years

2006-08-17T10:28:00.000-06:00

Today is our 38th anniversary! 38 years!! That sounds so looong when you are on the starting end of it! But looking back over the 38 years I've been married it really doesn't seem that long at all! I have no idea how my kids got as old as they are when we don't feel any older than they are now!! HA!!

I met hubby 40 years ago when he was a tour guide for a bunch of Swedish students on tour around the US. He had been part of a Lutheran Youth Encounter singing/ministry team that had toured the Scandinavian countries the previous year, and they asked him to go with the tour, because when he was there, he had stayed in the homes of many of these kids. They were staying in the homes of Lutheran church folks around the US, and we hosted 2 girls. Our youth group had a big beach party for them, and among all the very fair-skinned Sweeds, was 1 tan guy with wonderful blue eyes. I flirted shamelessly and made sure I sat by him when were around the bonfire that night! He had a super voice and I was totally smitten! I gushed to my mom all the way home from the church, only finding out much later that one of the girls we were hosting had a major crush on him on that trip!!

I made sure he had my phone number and address - so he could "send me literature on Lutheran Youth Encounter"!! Yeah - right - and I never got that literature either!! HA!! He sent me a postcard toward the end of the tour telling me he would call me when he got home. Home, by the way was only 15 miles from where I lived! (Handy!!) He called me 2 weeks later and said he had been drafted, and would I like to go out? We went out 3 times that week and he left for boot camp! We wrote and had a few phone calls, and I went to San Francisco one weekend with his folks to visit after boot camp - then he was off to Viet Nam for a year!

We wrote like mad that entire year - and I sent a lot of pictures. For my 19th birthday he sent me an engagement ring - he had borrowed money from several of his buddies to buy it, and every time I sent pictures they wanted to see "their" fiance, so he got them paid off quickly!! The military gave guys over there a 2-week R&R (Rest & Relaxation) in the middle of their tour, and he wanted me to meet him in Hawaii! I was only 19 and still living at home, and things were different then, so when dad said I could only go if he met me at the airport with a preacher, I decided to stay home!! We talked on the phone when he was there for 2 hours one day!! He went back to his (thankfully!) desk job on a big base in Viet Nam, and came home about 6 months later. The wedding was planned for about 6 months after that and we were married in his church then left on our honeymoon after a short reception in the fellowship hall.

We went up the coast to Santa Barbara and stayed in a cute hotel near the ocean. Things were vastly different then, and we were in a gaily painted (by my younger brother with permanent paint - oops! we had to have it re-painted after we got back!) tan VW and had about $100 in our pockets, and a $5 check an older lady at church gave us right before we left. We stayed 3 nights, and the last night we had dinner out on the pier with our last $20. Our dinner was $18.50 and we left $1.50 tip and took off quickly! I worked for a bank, so we waited til the Santa Barbara branch of that bank opened at 10 the next morning, cashed the $5 check, filled the VW with gas, had breakfast at McDonalds, and headed home! We got home a day early, so we didn't tell anyone we were home and enjoyed our own little duplex!

Marriage has had it's ups and downs like every one experiences, but we learned early-on how to fight fair and come out the other side still loving and committed to each other. We have buried grandparents, and now 3 of our combined parents; raised 2 wonderful sons, put them through college, watched them marry and have adorable daughters. We have bought 3 houses and sold 2 and have attended the same Nazarene church hubby was raised in. Through everything we have seen God's hand in our lives, and the lives of our friends and family. While we are neither perfect people - we are perfect for each other and are still much in love!

What does the future hold? I have no clue! We have our working/retirement/moving/traveling plans laid out, but our plans are subject to God's re-routing as He sees fit! What I do know for sure, is that as long as I live, I will love and respect this man that God hooked me up with all those years ago! Happy Anniversary Babe!

New Things

2006-08-16T17:16:00.000-06:00

Wow - what a lot has happened over the last couple of weeks!! You have read my other posts, so I won't go back there. We went down to Mom's house yesterday - she is 1 amazing lady! Of course she misses my dad a lot, but she is staying busy and is not afraid to tackle anything! She has a list of things to accomplish every day, and she is doing them!

She has a group of friends who walk the park every morning, and on Tuesday nights they all meet there for a picnic and a walk around the lake. She invited us to go last night, and it was great. There were 14 of us, and while we were visiting around a circle, they "lifted a cup" to daddy and talked about what a wonderful man he was and how they will miss him. It was just a couple of minutes and not emotional - more a "kiss and a wave" sort of. It fit the situation and opened the door to speak his name frequently with good memories. We visited a while, then adjourned to the picnic tables for dinner. It was a beautiful warm evening and the walk around the small lake was just right too. What a neat bunch of friends she has!

While we were there, she and one of her friends who has been widowed for several years, told us that they want to go on our Panama Canal cruise next March together!! They do both love to travel, and since they can share a room they are really excited about doing it. Both are so youthful and active it will be great fun to have them along! Mom had wanted to go, and she and dad were talking about going when he was diagnosed. She sort of kept it in the back of her mind just in case. I'm so glad they want to do it - it will really give her something to look forward to!!

We talked about the possibility of flying up to my brother's house in the Sacramento area for Thanksgiving, and mom was delighted!! I talked to my brother today, and he was equally excited, so I got right on line and made our reservations!! Good old Southwest - they do have great fares!! This will be perfect, because since we have moved to the apartment we don't have room for hubby's big family, and since our gathering was always so big, mom and dad didn't come up - they just had their own day with a couple of friends, then drove up to Bro's house the next weekend. Breaking the old tradition was perfect for us and her this year! Since Bro and his kids all work in retail it has never been an option for them to come to us on Thanksgiving weekend. Oh - I'm sooo jazzed!!!

Christmas will also be different this year - we have always had the day at Mom and Dads, with Computer Guy and Darling Wife making the 100-mile drive between her folks and us. Last year, since Miss C is growing up, CG & DW told us they would not be making the treck this coming year on Christmas. We totally understood, since 100 miles - no 200 miles with the round trip - is HUGE with a toddler who just wants to play with her toys!! We haven't talked about the logistics yet, but I'm thinking that we would love to drive down on Christmas eve and spend the night and fit in with their holiday celebration! We will see them in a couple of weeks, and we will see if that will work - that would be super, since without them coming up to mom's house, Christmas day would just be mom and hubby and me!! - A.Bit.Bleak!!

Well, It's time to leave, and I am outta here! Bye!

Bye Dad

2006-08-14T11:04:00.000-06:00

Well, my dad passed away on Saturday, August 12 early in the evening. He came home from the hospital with the help of Hospice on Friday, and went into a coma sometime Saturday morning. It was peaceful, and with the help of medicine, painless. As sad as losing him is, the relief that he is no longer suffering soothes my heart immeasurably. He was such an active person that being in that bed was not the way he wanted to spend any time, but his body was just unable to do what his mind wanted any more.

We know he is in Heaven, and that thought sustaines me. They have both always hated funerals, so there won't be one, but she is requesting folks support the St Joseph's Hospital Hospice program in Santa Ana, CA - or their local one! What a great program Hospice is - they were so supportive for my mom during their brief time at home!

We are heading for the airport and home - but I did want to update you all and thank you for your prayers - they really meant a lot to hubby and me!! Blessings Friends!, Love Grandi

Update on Dad

2006-08-02T10:44:00.000-06:00

We had good news on dad while we were in Hawaii - the medicine is apparently shrinking the tumor in his lung - YEA!
However - when we got home, there was bad news - he is back in the hospital - he has a vein in his knee that could use a stint - but since it is in a bendy part, a stint won't work. Well, that vein has closed down, and his foot is turning blue - not.good. He has also developed a blockage up near his gall bladder - also not.good. They tried to go in with a camera to look at the blockage, but he had to be on his left side, and there was a great deal of pain, and he couldn't breathe, so they couldn't do the camera. He now has fluid in his left lung that they are supposed to be draining off this morning to see if that will take care of the pain and breathing so they can run the camera in.

Mom is braced for the fact that the end may be near. She's doing ok - she just doesn't want dad to suffer. Seeing him down like this is hard for her - - for all of us! He has always been so active and interested in everything!

Please pray that they can do this test and find the source of the blockage - and that it can be taken care of. Then next, the foot/knee vein - that needs to be open. If they can take away the blockage they will do a bypass on the vein. Thank you for your continued prayers for them!

Aloha

2006-08-02T08:52:00.000-06:00

Aloha! We're back from a great week on the big island of Hawaii! There were 12 adults, and 11 & an almost 1. Most of the folks stayed in a large 3-br condo, and Dave and Jeanne (pictured here) and hubby and I stayed in a very large 2-br just 1 building away. There was a pool between us and we spent much quality time in and around it! The 2 condos are timeshares and are in a beautiful complex that borders the ocean and wraps around a beautiful golf course.

Our condo looked out on the 16th green and we could look down the fairway and see the ocean beyond the trees. We had the best of both views in one! We had a lovely lanai (patio) where we started every morning with 2 pots of wonderful Kona coffee and watched the golf course staff taking care of the green, and ended the day with happy hour watching the golfers try to minimize their putts!

This is the view - you can see the ocean just above the low trees - of course in person the color of the ocean was much more vivid - it was dusky in this picture, so the colors aren't as bright!

Our first night sunset was spectacular - we couldn't see it from the lanai, but we walked out on the green and discovered that the trees made a beautiful frame for it!

I got to play golf with the guys two times! I was sooo jazzed! The first day (Tuesday) was with Dave and hubby - I haven't played in 4 years, so sometimes it wasn't pretty - but over-all not too bad! On Thursday the other 2 guys were supposed to play with them, but one got sick, so - what was I to do?!! I "had" to go play again!! I took 11 strokes off my Tuesday game! I had a higher score than the guys, but I didn't embarass myself!!

The golf course was beautiful - a lot of it was right on the ocean, and was bordered with very black volcanic rocks - the colors were just incredible!

When we got to the 16th green Jeanne came out and took our pictures - you can see her going back to our condo - this is how close we were - It was a perfect location!!

One of the fun things about going to a different place is the different food you can find! This is a Dragon Fruit - we saw it in the grocery store and it was too interesting to pass up! It is a beautiful fruit inside! It is really mild, faintly similar to the taste of a kiwi. We had it for breakfast two times!

(As you can see Jeanne's hair is making a good come-back! She still wears her hats and wigs, but only when we went out - its really soft, and looks like it could be coming in a bit wavy! Her "old" hair was very straight - so she is hoping for a bit of curl - sometimes that happens after a chemo-induced hair loss!)

This is our last morning breakfast - white pineapple (yum!), papaya, and dragon fruit! We squeezed a little lime on the papaya, and I even tried some on the dragon fruit (double yum!!)

We drove out to the volcano and looked around out there - that was our only rainy day - the remnants of a wanna-be hurricane were drifting by the south and east portions of the island. We went through the museums and the lava tube (interesting! - it was left after the lava quit flowing through it!), but the cloud cover was down low, so we didn't drive out around the old crater area. The current flow is not real accessible, so we didn't drive down to the coastal area to see that.

We stopped by the Volcano Winery on the way back - that was fun, and the Hawaiian Bread company - their bread is soooo wonderful!! It took about 2 hours to drive back to Kona, and until we rounded the south end of the island and started up the west side we had a LOT of rain! The closer we got to Kona though, the nicer the weather was, and by the time we got back to our condos the sky was blue and it was a beautiful evening!!

We snorkeled a lot - almost every day! ( no pictures - I didn't want to leave my camera sitting on the beach) the bay is just a half mile from the condo, and is protected by a reef - way out - so the bay is calm and a perfect refuge for some wonderful fish and sea turtles!! They were both in abundance this time of year and we never tired of watching them! Spending an hour or more in the water each time was easy!!

The 11-yr old in our group got to go swim with dolphins one day. The Hilton Waikola over on the north side of the island is a spectacular resort - we drove over and spent a few hours looking around one day. Ron (his grandpa) learned that if his folks would sit through a timeshare presentation, he could swim with the dolphins for free. It is normally $190 - and since they already have a timeshare, they had no problem listening to their talk and saying "no"! ( They were interested, however, and the Hilton plan was interesting to them - they will expore further!) Anyway 11 got to swim - he LOVED it!! He got to be right in the pool with the dolphins, pet them, even hold one up (in the water of course)!! They took tons of pictures, and of course the Hilton staff took a video - that came with the experience!

Ok - my laundry is done, I'm ready to pack and go back!! Hawaii is just one of those places you can go back to again and again and it just doesn't get old!! Aloha!

Friday Babblings 6 - Aloha!

2006-07-21T16:41:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to get my desk cleaned off before the end of today, so I don't have time to write much! I am leaving Saturday morning at 9:15 for Hawaii!! Wahoo!! We are going to the big island with some friends who have a 2-bd timeshare near Kona. There is a bunch of us - another set of friends also have a 3-br condo there, and they are taking a group with them! 4 couples are flying out tomorrow morning, with 1 more and their kids later in the afternoon tomorrow. We have the condos for the whole week - right on a golf course and the ocean. I promise to try to have a good time!!!

We are going snorkeling, we will visit the Volcano, and the Volcano Winery, a coffee plantation and 3 of the guys (and hopefully me!) will play golf. Other than that we are just going to have to relax and read and relax!! Oh - did I say just relax?!! Tough, but I think we can handle the pressure!

So that is the end for today! I'll catch up with everyone when I get back! Aloha!!

A Fun Meme

2006-07-19T09:42:00.000-06:00

Tammy, over at Kentucky Gal had a fun meme - so I thought I'd join the fun! Tag yourself and join in!

Accent--Suuuthern Californian
Bible book I like--I go back to Proverbs again and again - 31 chapters, perfect for 1 a day for the month!
Chore I don't care for--Vaccuming - thank goodness hubby doesn't mind!
Dog or cat--neither any more - but I do love dogs!
Essential electronics--not sure if this qualifies, but air conditioner and dishwasher!! I also spend a lot of time on the computer!
Favorite movie--recently Pirates of the Caribbean part 2 Dead Man's Chest...The new Superman movie too - this latest Superman is the sexiest yet!!!
Gold or silver--Wear mostly silver, but my wedding ring is gold
Handbag I carry most often--I'm not a real purse person - It has to hold my phone, wallet, mints, lipstick, have a few pockets to organize that stuff, and hang over my shoulder. What I really like is just using a fanny pack - but they just don't look that great!!
Insomnia--rarely - unless I get to thinking too much!
Job title--I've had several, yardage store clerk, bank teller, mortuary secretary/hair/makeup person, HR/Payroll/Benefits Administrator, and my favorites - - Mom and Wife!
Kids--2 grown sons, both married, one in Ohio with a 4-yr old daughter, one in San Diego, CA with a 1-yr old daughter
Living arrangements--Hubby and I live in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with a small deck and garage in a gated community. Looking forward to retireing to a wonderful large home we have purchased and are now renting out in a Northern State
Most memorable moment/time--lots - but a couple special ones - taking my (then)80-yr young parents on their first cruise to Alaska - this completed their goal of travel in all 50 states! And spending 3 weeks traveling in England with Morning Glory and husband.
Naughtiest childhood behavior--scratching the (hated)neighbor boy's name in another neighbor's car - my parents had to pay to have it repainted. (Still humiliating!!)
Overnight hospital stay--couple of surgeries, 2 children (no meds by the way - it was the age of "natural" childbirth!)
Phobias--small closed areas and heights - although it has gotten better over the years - sometimes you just have to suck it up and go there!
Quote--from my dad, "Mind over matter - if you don't(or decide not to) mind, then it doesn't matter".
Religion--Christian, saved and kept by grace and mercy by the Lord Jesus Christ!
Siblings--1 younger brother - lives in Sacramento area near his kids.
Time I wake up--Alarm goes off at 5:15 during the week - my preference, however, is 7!!
Unusual talent--throwing clay on a wheel - I can also touch my nose with my tongue! HA!!
Vegetable I refuse to eat--I ate turnup greens thinking it was spinach once - I will not make that mistake again!! I'll only eat okra if it is well hidden in gumbo!
Worst habit--Probably overeating things I love - like desserts and chips - I have a hard time stopping, then am frustrated with myself for my lack of control!
Xrays--yes...get those annual mammograms!
Yummy stuff I cook(or make)--lots of things - homemade chocolate malt ice cream, scallops/shrimp in garlic butter sauce, carrot cake (to die for!), Pork chops in shallot cream sauce - - I could go on - - !
Zoo animals I like most--almost anything but monkeys, they give me the creeps!!

Too Cute!

2006-07-18T13:14:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm happy! I got 3 pictures to load!! This is the little outfit I made Miss C a couple of weeks ago! I found the pattern at a Sewing & Craft show, and they had the fabric too. The print is a little "Easter-y", but it was just so darn cute I went with it anyway! The jacket is totally reversable with green buttons on the pink check side and pink buttons on the print side. It has roll up cuffs and the hood turns back to reveal the lining. The front is open under the 3 little buttons at the top. The pattern showed 2 pockets, but to cut back on the bulk, I just put one on each side - so the print side has a pink check pocket.

I also bought this super double-stick tape stuff that is supposed to hold up forever at the same show. I didn't want the stitching to show on the ribbon trim around the bottom, so I put it on both sides - with that. It looked sooo cute!

I bought a little denim skirt at "Targhea" and put a double row of matching ruffles on it and put the ribbon trim on the top ruffle too. The whole outfit was so fun to make!! I can hardly wait to see her wear it!

A New Blog Friend

2006-07-18T12:24:00.000-06:00

Hi all - I have discovered another young mom who needs some blog-friends! She is Christina at Mind Wanderings and I have enjoyed reading her posts! She is dealing with some nursing insecurity right now and if some of you experienced folks could give her some encouragement it would be great! Check her out!

Friday Babblings 5

2006-07-14T12:55:00.000-06:00

We saw "Beauty and the Beast" last night. It was a play put on by a group called "Centre Stage" that is headed by a friend of some friends of ours. Her name is Keely Milliken, and if you ever come across anything she is doing - it is first class! The folks in the play were voice, instrumental, and dance students of Centre Stage and my goodness! - what talent these young folks have!!

We have attended community theater and the professional stuff in Los Angeles, and her productions rank right up there with the pros! The staging, live orchestra, costumes and most of all the finished product were just wonderful. Not that kind of "wonderful" that you smile and wink about - but the kind that you would gladly pay a whole lot more for than the $20 per seat that we paid last night!!

The smallest folks were darling as some of the "enchanted items" but the main characters were at the least in their teens, with some a few older ones thrown in too. We were most amazed by "The Beast" in last night's show. He had a mature baritone voice, and in the end when the "spell" was lifted, we could see that he was younger than he sounded. Afterward we found out that he was in his mid teens!!! The kid was amazing! He was very tall, and his voice was that of an adult! I will look forward to seeing him in more of their productions. I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes a professional one of these days!

At the urging of my son - Computer Guy - I signed up on MySpace this week. I have posted a couple of short things - but it doesn't have the same friendly feel as this bloggy-bunch does. I also can't figure out how most of it works! One of the fun things however, was being able to see if CG was on line - it has an instant messaging feature - it might be fun in the future! HA!!

I have a newly-realized appreciation for having my own washer and dryer! We don't have one in our apartment, and although the laundry room is close, there are only 6 washers and 6 dryers in our section of the complex. If I am home before 5pm I can usually get all my wash done in one fell swoop - however, since I get off work at 5 and have to drive 30 mins home - that has only happened 2 times! Everyone is really nice and takes their turn, and seem to be prompt about emptying their machine, but you still have wait and take your turn!!! I never appreciated the freedom of being able to toss a load in the washer or dryer and leave for dinner, or go to bed, and not take it out til the next morning!! My retirement house has a nice large laundry room - I can hardly wait!!

We are getting together with friends for a BBQ tonight - one of the couples lives in Texas, and is out visiting for a month. We haven't seen them too much because they have visited family out of the area. They are back in town, so we will have a chance to catch up tonight.

Another set of friends is having a 25th anniversary party tomorrow night. They started off planning a formal reception type affair, and realized early on that the formal just wasn't their style. It now has a beach party theme, with catered mexican food and a disc-jockey! They are our age (they just found each other a little later!), so all the music will be the stuff we know - and know how to dance to! It sounds like it will be a lot of fun! The place they are having the party is about 2 hours away, so several of us are staying overnight afterwards in a motel near there. That will make it more fun, since we don't have to face a looong drive home afterwards!

I had my teeth whitened last night! I have thought about it for a while - hubby had to have crowns on his 4 upper front teeth a while back, and his smile is now so pretty and white! In pictures I can really see the difference - my teeth are not nearly as white as his are now! So, I checked and it really wasn't that pricey - so I did it! They look a lot whiter - I love it! The hardest part is that I have to stay away from coffee, tea, cola and red wine for 2 weeks! Apparently the process makes the teeth a bit more porous for a bit and those things would tend to darken them again! I did have half a cup of coffee this morning, but I drank it through a straw and drank water right after!! The coffee will be the hardest - I love my morning coffee!!

Have a good weekend friends!

I Am Curious

2006-07-13T10:09:00.000-06:00

"It's never too late to be who you might have been." George Eliot (1819-1880)

This statement facinates me - and the fact that it is as relevant today as it probably was when George first penned it! As I am approaching retirement (early!!) I wonder what I will discover about me. I started working when I was 15, and worked til a month before my oldest son was born. I was fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom for 12 years, then only worked part time until he was in high school. I went back full time about 16 years ago and have another couple of years til I get to retire.

I am curious to see if any new talents or interests will emerge once I really have time to explore new things! I wonder who I will find in me in the next chapter of my life!

Momma Dove is Back

2006-07-12T09:54:00.000-06:00

Well, Momma dove is back on her beam this morning! I asked a few questions as I was leaving home this morning, but she wasn't too chatty, so I'm not sure what her plan is! I'll have to watch and see if she starts gathering nesting material again!

Friday Babblings 4

2006-07-10T13:11:00.000-06:00

Well, here it is Monday - and I totaly blew by Friday! With only a 3-day work week (yea!!) I just ran out of time!

I got a call from my mom's best friend on Thursday night. She wanted me to know that Dad was really miserable in the heat. Their home does not have air conditioning, and it has never been an issue. But with him stuck in the house and tethered to an oxygen machine these days, the extra heat last week was making it even harder for him to breathe. I did some fast research on window air conditioners on Friday morning and called Lowe's to see if they had the one I wanted in stock. They said they had 3 left, and I took right off to go to Lowe's! 30 minutes later, they had 1 left and I quickly bought it! It is a good sized one - but still able to plug into a regular outlet.

We went down Saturday morning to put it in for them. Thank goodness for instruction booklets!! It was pretty involved, but we did it!! We plugged it in and in 3 minutes it started pumping nice cool air. They have a large greatroom, but within about 5 minutes you could tell it was making a difference! It just hummed along, very quietly making that room very comfortable! Within about an hour we had to turn the fan down to low, because it was almost too cool!! YEA!! Hubby and I felt really good that we were able to do something that would make their lives a little better! They have always been such givers - it was fun to be able to give back!

Momma dove is gone! She sat up on that beam almost constantly for at least 2 weeks - and yesterday morning she was gone, and today too. I never could see a nest - so I don't know if she had eggs up there or not. The beam is clean - there is nothing there now.

Our renter moved in this weekend - it is weird to think of someone else living in our house! I hope she will love and take care of it during the time she is there! For now, she has a year lease - after that we will re-evaluate our moving time frame to see if we want her to stay longer or if we will move sooner!

Computer Guy and Darling Wife and Miss C came up to visit mom and dad this weekend. They spent the night with us on Saturday. It was so much fun to have them come up! They live about 100 miles south in San Diego, so the field trips just can't be nearly as frequent as we would wish! Miss C was totally adorable - so much so, that I completely forgot to take pictures!! Ah well - we have the memories and they are movies, not just snapshots!!

We were able to get together with cousins on Saturday night, and the babies were so cute together! Miss C is 14 months, Kenna is 10 months & Kaia is 6 months! Chris had made them little rompers all alike, so they got some pictures of them. It was so fun!!! (Forgot to take my camera there too!)

I made a darling jacket & skirt outfit for Miss C. I got it done in time to give it to her on Saturday. It is a pattern I got at a craft fair - not a published brand. It is totally reverseable with turn back cuffs and a hood. I bought a denim skirt at Target and added ruffles to it to make it match the jacket. I DID remember to take pictures of it, but since I forgot to bring the camera to work today, I'll post the picture of it later. It did turn out sooo cute though!! I think it is a little bit big for her right now - but she should be able to wear it real soon!! It was the first thing I have made on my wonderful new sewing maching - well, except for a couple of fun pillowcases for Morning Glory and the Dr - but the first thing that is "wearable"!!

I do love that sewing machine!! It sews really quiet and will stop with the needle either up or down automatically every time - whichever I choose! It will cut the thread with the push of a little button - I'm not waisting yards of thread any more! It also has a lever that I can push with my knee to lift the foot just a bit to pivot around curves - that is really neat! The nice large raised "table" that fits around it is really handy, and it also has space underneath to store the box with all the extra feet! It is wonderful! I can hardly wait for my next project!! I set up a 4-ft folding table in my guest/sewing room to cut and work at - and I could swing around in my chair around and use the table to spread things out on. It was great! I never had enough room in the sewing room at my house to do that. This apt bedroom is much larger and gives me a lot more usable space!

We saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie last night. There were a few places that I thought, "Ok - this is too long!", but overall I really enjoyed it!! Some of the special makeup effects are amazing! The face of Davey Jones is so real looking!! I definitely recommend it - maybe not for real young children - some of the effects are a little gruesome - and it is almost 3 hours long! Chris' 11-yr old grandson LOVED it!! The credits are long - there were hundreds of folks involved in the making of that movie! But you have to tough it out til the very end! Just like the first movie, there is a very short tag that you have to stay and watch!

Happy Monday friends!

Mom's Party

2006-07-06T13:55:00.000-06:00

Well, I told you last week, that my mom was torn between wanting to have her Independence Day party or cancelling it. One of her girlfriends advised her not to, because she didn't know how Dad would be doing that night. She called me and I told her that she should definitely have the party!! So she went ahead with the plans. They have a neighbor across the street that is one of their "adoptees" - Mike just loves them, and they, him! He has a beautiful antebellum home with a patio and back yard made for entertaining. He offered his patio for the party and the event was on!

Mom's parties are easy, and sort of do-it-yourself. She provides home-squeezed lemonade, coffee and dessert. Everyone brings an appetizer of some sort and a beverage if they choose. All the food is set out on a wonderful built-in serving counter out by the pool and the party is on! We took Ron and Chris (our hosts from our "homeless" days) with us and I imagine there were probably 40 - 50 people there! Dad came over for about 3 hours and really enjoyed himself. He coughs if he talks too much, but everyone understood and just carried the conversations with minimal verbiage on his part.

Mom gets everyone involved, and after the eating frenzy slowed a bit, Mike, being Irish and a bit of an extrovert obliged her request to bring us a poem! He has the ability to memorize long passages and delivers them with a flair that is mesmerizing!! Hubby sang a song, another friend brought her ukulele and we all sang with her. Ron and Chris and hubby and I sing in a group together - and since all 4 parts were represented, we sang a couple of gospel songs. Mike's renter plays the part of the Genie in Aladdin at Disneyland and had a wonderful voice and sang a couple of songs for us too! Mike entertained us with a few more recitations and we took a break for cake!

Dad was getting weary about that time, so hubby walked across the street with him and helped him transfer from his portable oxygen to the stationary one. He was tired, but breathing easily and had enjoyed himself thoroughly! Hubby came back over, and folks were starting to pack up what they had brought to start leaving for home. Mike wanted hubby and I & Ron and Chris to sing again, so we gathered around the fire pit and sang an arrangement of Jesus Loves Me that is acapella and really pretty - pretty soon we had about 10 of us standing around the pit singing anything we could come up with! Old standard hymns, Beach Boys songs, Kingston Trio (Sorry - you may not be old enough to remember some of these - but they were "our" songs!!), old camp songs, show tunes - - it went on for almost an hour!! We had sooo much fun!!

We finally ran out of songs and it was getting late, so we helped mom take the last of the stuff home and said bye to dad and headed for home. It was such a great evening!!

Mom's friend stopped me on the way out after the party and thanked me for pushing her to go ahead with the plans. She had advised her not to earlier in the week and said that her advice had been wrong - she realized that it was exactly what mom and dad both needed!

I talked to mom yesterday, and she thanked me again for talking her into having the party. It has given them a bright and happy thing to think about and talk about. They have been a bit isolated the last few weeks - and they are such "people people" - They needed it a lot more than they realized!

Dad is having steroid shots about every 3 or 4 days. They help him breathe, and Dr. M comes right to the house to give them to him - the man is just wonderful!! He has promised to be there for mom through this whole thing. He has given her so much more confidence - she doesn't feel like they are at the mercy of a distracted medical group - but he is someone she knows and trusts!! We don't know yet if The Pills are doing anything. Dad will go back to the oncologist later this month for more tests to find out if they are working.

Thanks for your continued prayers for them - they are depending on God for His strength!

Coronado on the 4th

2006-07-05T12:58:00.000-06:00

We had such fun in San Diego with the kids for the 4th!! After playing all day on the beach on Monday - is there anything more cuddly than a sleepy kidlett?!! Momma loaded her in her wagon and walked back to the hotel - she slept all the way and was raring to go again after that! We rode bikes to dinner, then across the island for ice cream. What a neat place - it is very "small town" feeling. Folks ride bikes and are friendly and casual everywhere you go!

(Our friend has a bike shop and loaned me a bike so I could ride with everyone, since my 30-yr old one was sold at our garage sale. It was a Trek and boy, was it nice!! He said it had a "comfort seat" on it, and although "comfortable bicycle seat" is a bit of an oxymoron - it wasn't tooo bad!! I think I'd like to go ahead and buy it. Hubby has a nice bike - and I think it would be fun if I had one too! Since when we move to NRS, we will only be a mile from Morning Glory - it would be fun to ride our bikes over for coffee on those long summer evenings!!)

We went to our hotel off the island Monday evening and came back first thing on Tuesday. We parked on the side of the island where we would end up for dinner and biked back to where the kids and all the gang had a spot to watch the parade.

We sat by the side of the road under a big canopy and Miss C had plenty of room to walk around and keep an eye on things! I think someone had a cookie and in this picture she was pretty focused on it!!

The parade was so fun - very small town with the Boy Scouts, the vintage car clubs and the High School band - one of the entries was the "Geriatric Surfing Club and Drill Team". They were a riot - all "grey haired" carrying surf boards and the drill team portion had put together some coordinated moves - it was great!

The island is almost half military base - so the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard all had entries in the parade. It was moving to see everyone stand and applaud as each branch of the Armed Forces rolled or marched by. Boy - some of those beach craft and "trucks" are huge when they are only 10 ft away from you!!

Of course - granddaughter watching was the most fun of all! She is 14 months and is soooo cute! She is very busy and since she started walking 2 months ago, she wants to explore everything!! She is fearless in the swimming pool, and momma is teaching her to paddle to the side. She says "hel-lo" in the cutest little sing-song way! She comes out with what sounds like entire sentences - of course no one is exactly sure what she is saying at this point!! We are working on "I love you Grandi and Poppie"!! What a joy she is!! Momma and daddy are just wonderful with her! It is so neat to see your big grown son be such a loving husband and daddy!

We had such a fun day - after the parade we went back to the kid's hotel (Beautiful with a huge pool!) - we hung out by the pool most of the afternoon with all the gang. Late in the afternoon we cleaned up, packed up and took off on the bikes to the golf course on the other side of the island. On the 4th they close the course to golfers and invite the community to set up their canopies and BBQs and get ready for the fireworks show. The bigger kids were all playing soccer and baseball and just running for the joy of being there! The group has a lot of kids and several babies from 3 months to about 3 or so - they are all so cute together!! Because we live 100 miles north we left shortly after dinner - about 7:30 - so we wouldn't get into the bad traffic later after fireworks. The freeway was wonderfully clear, and we were back at our house in under 1 1/2 hours!! (Ok - I was driving a little fast - but not the fastest on the road!!) When we pulled up - a bunch of the folks from the apts were out on the front lawn - so we joined them and watched the fireworks display from the near-by high school! It was just a great weekend!!

Friday Babblings 3

2006-06-30T12:23:00.000-06:00

Wow - another week over! Time goes so fast sometimes I can barely catch my breath! My boss has been in Europe on vacation since June 6th, and will be back next week, and it just doesn't seem like he has been gone almost a month! He and his wife got tickets for a World Cup game, and were hoping to get to see a couple more if they could get tickets. USA lost, well, they tied 1 game, but just getting to be there for those games would be really exciting!

Momma dove is back on her beam sitting on a pretty much non-existent nest! She had some nesting material up there with her, but the wind sort of swirled around strangely one night last week and swept most of it away. I'm not home much - but I never see her leave, nor have I seen a poppa dove bringing her any food! I'm not sure how doves handle all of this - but she seems very content to sit on her beam. Our comings and goings don't seem to faze her. I found the binoculars last week, so I'm going to look at her closely this afternoon.

Dad is doing fairly well, he spent last friday night in the hospital because he just couldn't breathe, but came home on Saturday. Their family Dr - Dr M. is wonderful! In SoCal Doctors DO NOT make house calls. But Dr M was there that Friday to give him a shot of steroids, and has been by 2 more times this week! The steroids have really helped his breathing, so Dr M is going to wean him down and hopefully they will have done the trick. Dad is also taking The Pill - and has had no bad side effects. We are still praying that it will do its job and strangle whatever it is that is in his lung! They should be able to see a difference within another 3 weeks.

Mom always has an Independence Day party on the Sunday before the 4th, so she is going ahead with the plans. She asked me if I thought that was a bad idea - NO!! It is a great idea! It is giving them something to look forward to - something NORMAL to look forward to!! She loves entertaining, and their house and patio is perfect for big groups. Her work is not too bad - she just cleans up and sets out chairs. She provides cakes for dessert, coffee and lemonaide. The guests all bring munchies and their beverage of choice. My mom is a "person collector", so the guests are all ages and interests and the combination of people is always fun and interesting! Her neighbor Mike, always comes - he is a motivational speaker, and Irish. He recites Irish poet's works and is mesmerizing!! Hubby always sings, and this year our friends are going with us and since we all sing in a group together and cover all 4 parts, we will sing a song too! Several others will recite or tell stories - all clean and always entertaining!

Monday morning we are driving down to Coronado Island in San Diego. Computer Guy and his family, and his wife's family always spend a few days there around the 4th. Coronado is a wonderful place, and the 4th brings a parade, picnics in all the parks and in the evening everyone gathers on the golf course for BBQs and fireworks over the bay. Since we no longer have a big house with a big yard and big pool to have our big parties around, we can go wherever we want for the holiday!! We are taking our bikes and will enjoy the island on monday, stay overnight in San Diego, then back on the island for the festivities of the day with the kids and the co-inlaws! Her family is wonderful and we always enjoy being with them! AND, as an added bonus, we will get to OD for 2 whole days on that darling granddaughter!!

We had a serindipity last weekend because of Dad's illness - The VP (youngest son) flew out from Columbus, OH to see Grandpa and Nana!! We haven't seen him since last September, so the visit was wonderful! He wanted to spend time with my dad and mom, and he stayed at our house, so we really had a good visit. He arrived Saturday morning and we spent time with mom and dad on Saturday and then again on Sunday afternoon, then he flew home early Monday morning. He got to see a couple of cousins on Saturday night and enjoyed seeing some old friends at church on Sunday morning. His job is pretty demanding, so if he didn't come that weekend it wouldn't have been til at least August or September - and based on Dad's breathing last Friday, we weren't sure we'd have him that long! He was definitely better this week though. We didn't say it out loud, but since he doesn't get out here often, he might have been saying good bye to Dad. That thought ran through my mind - but I just let it keep running.

Tomorrow, being Saturday, is a sleep-in day - Wahoo!! We have a notary coming at 10 to sign papers on a home equity line for our NRS house. So I don't have to get myself together til at least 9:30!! Now, while we still have jobs, is the time to get that loan lined up! We have to pay a very small annual fee if we don't use it, but it doesn't expire, so it will be available to us when we retire and move! We are contemplating a little remodeling when we move into "The House", and the purchase of a new vehicle for me, so that available money will come in handy!

Goodness, the day before a holiday weekend is soooo quiet!! It's noon and my email and phone has been quiet for over an hour. Our other large offices are 2 & 3 hours ahead of us - and I'm thinking they have probably split! It seems like a perfect time to do the same thing!! Maybe Cold Stone and spending a little time with my book by the pool would be a good use of my time today!! Happy 4th of July friends!!

A Interesting Encounter

2006-06-28T15:23:00.000-06:00

I just had something very interesting occur! Our receptionist called me down to say that Marcelle was here to see me. Sounds normal, except I don't know anyone named Marcelle, nor was I expecting any visitors today. I went down to the lobby and met an attractive woman about my age dressed in jeans and a tank top. She introduced herself and said that I didn't know her, then she asked if I had ordered something from a Medi-something diet place recently. I cautiously said yes, fully expecting her to try to sell me something. Well, it turns out that my order from Medifast had been mis-routed to her house and she had it in her car! She brought it to me - what a sweet thing to do!!

Now the story gets more interesting! She said it was delivered to her house on Hadley . . I lived on Hadley from 1970 - 1976! I told her that I used to live across from the High School Baseball field, and it was a little green house now. That's the house she lives in!!! How weird is that??!! The main lable on the box had my office address - where it should have been delivered, but there was a sticker on the side of the box with her(my old) address on it! (I am clueless about that!!)

We stood out by her car and talked about the house - the renovations and changes we had made in it and the changes she had made. When we lived there it had 3 tiny rooms in the kitchen area. The house was built in 1902, and there was no room for a frig in the kitchen - it had to go in a tiny breakfast room. There was also a space for a wringer washer (which I had) and the tub next to it in a small service porch. We gutted those 3 rooms and made a larger kitchen with room for the fridge and a laundry room that was big enough for a modern washer and dryer. They had always wondered why the kitchen was designed the way it was, and when they put a new floor in several years ago, they could see where the old walls had been!

It was a wonderful old house with a built-in buffet in the dining room, an arched doorway between the living and dining room and a beautiful glass paned door with large glass sidelights in the side of the dining room that opened out to a porch and down to the driveway. It didn't have any heat for the first year we lived there. All it had when we bought it were open front ceramic gas heaters in each room, and the gas company would not turn on the gas til they were gone. We used the fireplace and an electric blanket - and bundled up everywhere in between! We put a forced air heater in a closet and we had heat for the first time on Christmas Eve that year! It was heaven not to have to wear long underwear and sweaters in the house!!

It was so fun to talk to her! I drive by that house almost every day on my way home and I have always wondered about it. Its it just a rental? Who lives there? We bought it after we had been married for 2 years, had our first baby (computer guy) there and just loved our first little home! Now I know who lives in it and that it just isn't a rental but a home to 2 ladies who love it like we did!

I Have A House

2006-06-27T10:03:00.000-06:00

I have a house, and I don't have a house! This is the house that closed escrow on June 14th (my birthday!) and became ours. Last Friday night our realtor/property manager (PM) signed a 1-year lease with a lady and her 3 children - so starting July 8, it is not mine for a whole year! Our PM assures me she has a good job, making plenty enough to pay the rent and utilities every month. She understands it will be our retirement home and she has assured him that she will take good care of it for us. But I sure wish I could have stayed in it for just a little while before she does!

See that window above the garage doors? That is the bonus room - it will be my sewing room! It has a little half bath, and will accomodate all the projects I can dream up! See that little porch rail by the front door? It gards a porch just big enough for a couple of rockers - perfect for morning coffee or "happy hour"! See that single garage door? Behind that will be my pottery wheel, and electric klin and a nice workbench! I can hardly wait!!! This is the first house we have owned with an attached garage, so we will park our cars inside - I will be able to get the groceries into the house without getting rained on!! I can hardly wait!!

We just made reservations to fly up again in August to stay with Morning Glory for a long weekend. We have to arrange for fencing for the yard. We have done a little research and it turns out that champagne tastes surface again! The fencing style we like the best is also the most expensive!! We may have to alter that a bit - we are going to try to get the 2 neighbors to share the cost for the part that will benefit them - I hope that is not met with resistance!! Our yard backs up to what will be a park, so as wonderful as all that open area will be - there needs to be some sort of barrier between our yard and a public park! We will enjoy not having houses behind us - and the view of the mountains in the distance was a HUGE selling point for me! Have I mentioned that I can hardly wait?!!

They do something in NRS that is very different for this SoCal kid - they have irrigation districts. You pay a fixed annual fee based on the size of your property, for your yard water! This is non-potable water that you use for watering your yard or washing the car only! It was paid through the end of the year for us through the escrow! It is very inexpensive in comparison to having to pay full price for every drop we use in SoCal!! It is also nice to know that our renter won't have to choose between watering the lawn and buying groceries! The sprinklers will always keep the yard nice and green, and she won't have to worry about that!

For now, we have to stay here and work and continue to add to our retirement account - just a little while longer before we make the big move! We will really miss our friends and family here, but we plan to fly down and visit often! I will also be excited to have them visit us! We will sit on the patio and see the mountains and watch the beautiful sunsets, and they will - hopefully - understand.

Friday Babblings 2

2006-06-23T09:18:00.000-06:00

Momma dove is back - well, maybe it is one of the babies - but someone is back on the 4" beam outside my kitchen window! No nest - just sitting on that beam. Do doves have more than 1 set of babies in a spring? Could she be nesting again? I'll just have to watch and see!

I love our apartment! I love the spacious bedroom and the little deck. We've never lived in an apartment; not even as newlyweds - so this is a new experience! Yeah - we hear some of the neighbor's comings and goings, but we are only aware of them, not annoyed. I am still working with the bedroom window shades - I'm a really an "open window" person. I love to be able to see out, and have the windows open to the night air. We have those vertical blinds that you can adjust one way or the other to block the line of sight. Since I am a tad claustrophobic and do like to see out, I bought a tension rod and sort of semi-sheer panels to put up in the bedroom window behind the blinds. I still have to cut them off so they don't puddle on the floor, but they are up. I put them in about half way up, so I can still see out over them, but they camouflage the lower half. I was feeling pretty confident in my little curtains, until the other night when I was standing at my vanity brushing my teeth before bed, and I noticed that I could look in my mirror and see the lighted kitchen window of an apt in the next building over through my little curtain. Now, if I can see that window, then they could see me if they were standing at the sink!! Whoops! I went over and adjusted the verticals, but unless I really shut them all the way, I can still see into their kitchen! Lordy - who knows what they have seen with their kitchen light off!! HA!! Anyway - I am going to see if doubling or even tripling (the curtains are long enough) the fabric will do it or if I have to go get real fabric and make new curtains!

Some good friends left yesterday morning for a cruise/land trip in the Mediterranean and eastern Europe area. They will be gone 17 days! Their itinerary was wonderful! It is all with a tour group, and that works really well for them. They are both retired teachers and the tour guy taught with them and retired to put tours together. They are going with a group of about 10 couples - several repeats, like them, so it's a group that's not too big to move around with, and they know several of the couples. Ah - retirement!! I'm looking forward to the freedom of it!! As "still working" folk we can only take the time we have accrued - and it never accrues fast enough!! HA!!

I think we have our house in NRS rented. It will be to a professional lady and her 3 children - no pets, no smoking. We don't have a fence up yet, and that is the only drawback - but we told our property manager that if she would sign a year lease, we would have a fence up within 30 days. Now, we just have to get back up there and choose a fence! The good thing about having 1/3 acre is that you are not right on top of the neighbors - the bad thing is when you have to fence it, it is huge!! Our manager is going to get us the names and numbers of the 2 neighbors - we are going to contact them and hopefully they will share the cost on those sides! We have to put up white vinyl, which we like. Of course the one we like best - the kind with the lattice panel on top is the very most expensive!! Ah - champagne tastes!! I think we will go up again in August so we can choose in person. The vinyl lasts forever, so we want to make sure we make the right choice the first time!

Well, the day has begun - my floor here at work has come alive and I must come to work too! Happy weekend folks! God Bless!

The Pill

2006-06-22T13:54:00.000-06:00

Well - thank you for your prayers! Since Daddy is not a candidate for surgery or chemo, the Dr gave him a prescription for a pill that, if it works for him, is supposed to strangle the blood supply to the carcinoma. If that works, the cells will die off because they are not being nourished. They cost $3600 for 30 pills!!! Their insurance will pay half, and they decided to try it for at least a month to see if it would work. There is about a 25% chance it will. That was hope enough, so they ordered the pills. THEN - Their regular Doctor called mom in yesterday and told her he had called the Oncologist to sort of plead their case and mom doesn't know why or how, but they got the drug company to provide the pills for FREE for as long as he needs them!!! Wow!! Even when you don't know exactly how to pray, God knows exactly how to answer!!

So now, we pray that the pills work! If they do, they will start to see a difference within 30 days. Their Dr says that since Dad is really healthy in most respects he has a good chance! He is on dialysis because a high-blood pressure medicine he used to take damaged his kidneys, but in every other way his heart and general health is great! (There was a class-action suit several years ago over this blood pressure drug, but dad opted not to join it. It seemed more like a racket, and the drug had already been pulled from the market. He decided that the suit would not restore the kidney function, so why make lawyers richer!)

So, there is hope - and they will hang on to that!! Thank you all for your continued encouragement! Blessings!

Dad's Cancer

2006-06-20T16:39:00.000-06:00

Well, I just talked to my mom - it is a carcinoma, she wrote the type down - but it wasn't handy. It is a large mass in his right lung. He is not a candidate for surgery or for chemo because of his dialysis. They are going to try him on a pill that is $120.00 per day - $3600 per month. Their insurance will only cover half of it, so they are going to get 1 month's worth - $1800 - to see if it makes a difference. This pill won't cure him or get rid of the cancer, but there is a chance it would help him be able to breathe better. Basically, it is just a waiting game.

So!! Crappy news!! I know God can work some awesome miracles, but I also know that sometimes he doesn't so I can't hang everything on that. You know, we all "know" that we and our loved ones are going to die - - eventually. It just hits you different when the "know" becomes know, and the eventually becomes soon. I guess that what I would ask of you, my praying friends, that you pray for peace for them (oh yeah - me too!). He doesn't seem to be in pain, so I would pray that God would continue to spare him that if at all possible. I certainly don't want to lose him, but watching my father-in-law waste away over three years was horrible. I think dad is more afraid of that then the dying itself.

Today he actually felt a little ok - so they are going to a picnic at the park tonight with friends. I'm glad, that will lift them and they will need all the lifting that is available in the weeks or months to come.

Oh yea! I finally got a picture to load! This is Mom and dad and me in January down in Mexico - we took them on a 3-day cruise. Hubby was taking the picture. Now you have a face to pray for!

Blessings!

Father's Day

2006-06-19T12:44:00.000-06:00

We spent the day with my folks yesterday - I have to admit I was nervous to see my dad, knowing that he is now on oxygen to help him breathe. Silly, really, but I couldn't get that feeling out of the pit of my stomach! Hubby understood - he has lost both of his parents to cancer in the last few years.

We got there in time for hubby to watch the end of the golf tournement with dad. I can't really explain why I was so nervous - but that vanished as soon as I saw him. He is a bit "puny", and had the oxygen thing in his nose, but since he has a moustache and beard you really don't even see it. When he lays down it is harder for him to breathe, so he is not sleeping well - I'm sure that has a lot to do with the puniness. However, "dad" is still there! Still more interested in what is going on around him than what he is experiencing and still able to give a good "dad hug"!

We had a nice time visiting and catching up on not only his progress, but the grandkids, my mom's painting projects (she is an artist!), our new house, apartment and anything else that popped up! They have a wonderful neighbor - Mike - who is about our age, a widower, and a motivational speaker. He is quite a neat guy and has sort of adopted my folks, and they - him. He called, and was on his way back from his mom's house in New Mexico (drove it in one day!!) to see if it was time for a glass of wine! He came straight to their house to see my folks, and share the pictures of his latest handiwork at his mom's house. It was fun to have him and another good diversion for dad, and hubby and I got to know him better! We had taken enough filet mignon (yummmm!) to share so he stayed for dinner too!

Mike drove home (about 50 yds!) after dinner and we stayed a little longer. We could tell dad was tiring so we headed home after pie. They see the oncologist on Tuesday about noon and will have a better idea on treatment and prognosis. He has dialysis today, so they were going to have to figure out how to work the portable oxygen thing. Once he gets that going he won't have to be so house bound. They are both outdoors people and usually very active. So if he can get out a little it will surely lift his spirits.

Thank you for your continued prayers for them!

Friday Babblings

2006-06-16T15:21:00.000-06:00

Its Friday - Wahoo!! This has been quite a week! I found out my dad has cancer, had a birthday, and had escrow close on a house I can't move into for maybe as long as a couple of years! Fun things and not fun things!

I just talked to mom, and they don't see the oncologist til next Tuesday - a whole week after the "news". They have heard very good things about this Dr., he has a great reputation in their area and did tell them on the phone that there are treatments and medicines that are having good results. I pray my dad is one of the folks that they will work well for!

My friend Morning Glory went to my new house in my stead this morning to receive a nice new stainless side-by-sice refrigerator from the Lowe's delivery guys. Our renters will get to use it for the first time! I am vicariously living in our "Northern Retirement State" (NRS) through MG and her husband! The weather there comes up on my yahoo home page every morning, and I read the blogs of the folks who live there and pretend I'm there too! I even find myself standing at my apartment kitchen sink and pretending that the garages I am looking are really my pretty back yard and my view of the mountains!

Speaking of my kitchen sink - living in an apartment is proving interesting! This morning the kitchen sink was full of water that was just standing there! I zapped the disposal switch, everything went down and came right back up again!! Yike! Stopped up sink, and I am having dinner for 13 tomorrow night! I called the manager to report the problem and she assured me that Dave (co-manager) would take care of it today - and by the way, what did I put down the disposal? Well, last night we had about 1/2 cup of pasta noodles left over (not a big glob, just a few curly ones), so hubby washed them down and turned on the disposal (marvelous man does the dishes on the weeknights that I cook!). Everything seemed fine last night - however I now know that the disposal does not accept anything larger than will fit down the little holes in the little plastic thing that was in the drain when we moved in! Those holes, by the way,are smaller than the drain holes on the side of the sink where there is no disposal!!! Ok - now the "mrs fix-it" in me wants to trot right down and buy a new one and install it to replace the nasty smelly ineffective antique that is there now! BUT - it is not my property - I am a renter and at the mercy of Dave, and for now, I will put ALL the food garbage in my trash can!! I know - millions of women (and men) do not have disposals and do this all the time - but there is one in my sink!! Thank goodness the dishwasher appears to work!! Oh - I can hardly wait to move into my pretty NRS house!!!

Momma dove and her 2 babies moved out this week. For several days they hung around hopping on the ground and making frantic flights to the apartment stairs. They were so cute - but we had to make sure where they were when we started up the stairs. We scared one baby practically to death when we started up the stairs and it felt trapped! We could walk within just a few feet of them and they were ok with that when they were down on the ground however, so we did get a good look and felt like we were making friends! I miss seeing them out my kitchen window!

Bye for the weekend! Have a good one!

Today

2006-06-14T15:29:00.000-06:00

Today is my birthday! It is Flag day and my day! When I was little I totally believed dad when he told me the flags were out for me and even now - I do love flags!!

It is 2:30 here in SoCal, and I am at work. My boss is in Germany trying to cheer the flagging US Soccer team on, his adm assistant is out sick and the weather outside is beautiful. I believe I will leave this establishment and celebrate my birthday by going to Cold Stone, picking up a white chocolate with raspberries and chocolate chips and eating it out by the pool at my apt! (If you don't know what Cold Stone is - it is a wonderful place where they take one of their many flavors of home-made style ice cream and mix it with whatever you would like to have in it!! WONDERFUL!!)

So, the stuff on my desk will just have to wait - because I am celebrating life today!!

"C"

2006-06-13T09:52:00.000-06:00

Cancer - boy, does that word turn things upside down! My mom and dad got that word injected into their vocabularly yesterday morning. No one in my family has ever had it, and you sort of feel that is a little extra buffer against it! Obviously, that assumption is not to be trusted!

It's interesting, some folks I have known immediately blame God, as if He is sitting up there looking for someone to zap. My first thought was that I am so glad I have a God who cares enough to hold my hand through whatever comes. That is incredibly comforting.

They don't know much yet - not how bad, if its treatable and if so, how. That is all stuff we will find out in the next few days I imagine.

Several of you put dear messages of hope and encouragement on my page - thank you, thank you! Morning Glory and husband called us last night to make sure it was ok to ask for your prayers. My goodness YES!! Nobody ever had too many prayers said for them!! We will take all we can get!!

Just so you have a picture of him - his name is Don Smith - one of the most loving men I know (and that is not just because he's my dad!). He goes out every week after the trash truck comes and takes all the trash cans in for all the folks on their street - he says they all go to work every day, and that is something he can do for them to lighten their load! He is 82 and was on the first salvage ship to sail into Pearl Harbor. He was raised on his dad's tug boat on the Southern California coast, was a contractor and also worked for several of the big home building outfits in the southland. He and mom have traveled in every state in this beautiful country - mostly by truck and trailer - and usually by the scenic route instead of the highway! He and mom celebrated their 60th aniversary in January. They are still lovebirds! He has had a very interesting life. It was hampered in the last few years by having to go on kidney dialysis, but only hampered - they have been very active and just make arrangements for dialysis out of town when they travel! The last couple of months we knew something was slowing him down - he has been having trouble breathing - hence the tests. I tried to post a picture of him, but the site is not cooperating today - oh well.

Thank you for continuing to remember him in prayer - I don't know if God will heal him or just help us through, but I know He is always right here with peace and wisdom available for the asking.

Blessings, Grandi

Momma Dove

2006-06-09T10:18:00.000-06:00

I was watching momma dove last night while I was fixing dinner. She moved over and there was 1 baby! Now remember, they are sitting on a 4" beam more than 2 stories up in the air!! Baby is about 1/2 her size and adorable! Momma flew off for some "take-out" and baby just dutifully sat on the beam til she returned with dinner. I don't know how close baby is to flying, but once the committment is made, there will be no turning back.

I cannot see a visible nest, so momma and baby are just sitting on that beam. Momma keeps baby nice and warm - they were all snuggled up this morning when I checked on them from my kitchen window.

It struck me again - God cares for this little momma and her baby high up in the air on a 4" beam, and He cares for me.

A Few More Apt Pics

2006-06-07T09:26:00.000-06:00

Here are some more move pictures - I couldn't get them to load yesterday! I said I loved my bedroom - it is much larger than the one we had in our house! I can actually walk to the door and see my pretty quilt! And for the first time in 30 years the mirror fits over the dresser!! The bedrooms were really tiny in our house and there was always a window in the way!

Our little deck is the perfect place for breakfast coffee or "happy hour" after work!

This is (HA! WILL be) the guest/sewing room - you can see I still have just a couple of things to do in there!! However - this is all that is left of the "100 boxes"!!

I left this last picture large to show the little lady sitting on a nest up on that beam. It is only about 4" wide and I can see the babies snuggling under her from my kitchen window! When I find my binoculars I'll see if I can count the babies! She is a dove, and seemingly undaunted by our comings and goings! I sure hope those babies stay on the beam till they can fly - it is a looong way down!!

Moving Day

2006-06-06T13:29:00.000-06:00

Well, this is what it looked like the night before we moved in, nice little deck, (cute husband!), spacious livingroom, dining and kitchen, 2 bedrooms and 2 baths.

Then Chris started in the kitchen lining the shelves.

And Taryn and Jeanne (in cap - beat cancer - waiting on hair!) tackled the linen closet and bath cabinets

The next morning after 4 hours, a big truck, good friends and 15 stairs MANY times - the spacious living room looked like this. This is only a portion of the "100 boxes" - the rest are in the bedrooms and behind the camera in the dining room! Oh my, what if we couldn't fit it all in?

A few short hours later we have a real living room, dining room a large & pretty master bedroom and a guest room that still needs work! It's not huge, but it feels friendly and will be very much home for the two of us for a couple of years!

Husband was wonderful that day - he was in charge of all the moving, then he took charge of making the living room liveable! There may have been an ulterior motive - See that blue pillow on the couch? At the end of the day - about 5 minutes before I took the picture, he was fast asleep on it! HA!!

After spending 6 weeks with friends while we were between houses, it almost feels funny to be just the 2 of us again! We had a great time with the friends, and their hospitality was generous and totally enjoyable!! But we are are enjoying getting everything in order and back to the routines we enjoy!

100 Boxes Revisited

2006-06-01T16:38:00.000-06:00

We went this morning and did all the signing for our apartment! Since we will be staying in SoCal for a couple more years before we can move into The Retirement House, we decided to rent a nice apartment in a gated community here in town. We have had a great time staying with friends over this last 6 or so weeks (Really!! - We have had fun!!), But we are looking forward to living with our own "stuff" again!

While we were there this morning we walked through the unit. Our manager is really working to have us move in on Saturday, so the carpets were cleaned last night, the painters were there today, the cleaning service will be there Friday morning and we can get in on Friday night and start the shelf paper!! They are doing the whole turn around in 3 days!! The last renters didn't get all their stuff out til Tuesday!! (Now, I ask you - who on earth moves in the middle of the week instead of on the weekend???) Anyway, the complex has a big potluck party the next Saturday, and she wanted to make sure we were in and settled before the party, so they are really going the 2nd mile!!

Back to the 100 boxes - - after looking at the apartment this morning I am having a panic attack about all those boxes and their contents!! It is a larg-ish unit - 2 bedrooms, 2 bath - 1150 sq ft - but I HAVE 100 BOXES of stuff plus the furniture!!! (Unfortunately that also means 100+ trips up the stairs to the 2nd floor! My dear husband has hired a couple of teens from church to help with the heavy stuff - Bless him!!) I surely hope I can find homes for everything in those boxes! (Did I mention we have 100 BOXES?!!!)

Oh, it will be good to sleep in my own bed again - amid the contents of 100 boxes!!

My Garden

2006-05-31T09:31:00.000-06:00

A garden - I want one when we move to Small Town and into our new house. I just read a post from "The Secret Cave of the Sugar Mama" and she is excited about the prospect of buying a new house, but was lamenting that she would have to leave her wonderful garden. I want to feel like that about my garden!! I had one years ago when I was a stay-at-home-mom and I loved having those fresh vegetables all summer. But once I went back to work full time there just wasn't enough hours in the day. I tried to keep it up on Saturdays for a while, but that just didn't cut it and we finally let the grass take back over. In fact when we moved out last month there was no hint that there had ever been anything but grass back there!

But the new house - We will have seasons in Small Town in Northern Retirement Destination State, so my growing period will be different than sunny Southern California. I may even be able to grow some of those colder weather fall veges that I never had the right weather for in SoCal! I can hardly wait for home-grown tomatoes - I can't think of too many things that taste better than biting into a vine-ripened tomato still warm from the summer sun. If it drips off my chin - so much the better! And zucchini - not only the little finger-sized ones that are so sweet, but the ones that get a foot long that you can scoop the seeds out of and stuff! Mmm - I can hardly wait!!

Not only will I have vegetables and maybe some berries, but tulips!! I LOVE tulips!! Down here in SoCal you have to store the bulbs in the refrigerator so they will get the cold they need (HA - NOT!!), but it will be cold enough in NRDS that I will be able to plant them and just enjoy the bounty!! This new house is pretty much consuming our waking thoughts lately! My husband wants a weeping willow tree - his favorite in the whole world!! We are planning the tree placement, the gardens, the patio, the placement of furniture, becoming part of a new - much larger church, meeting new friends, spending more time with old friends. There is so much to look forward to, it will make the pain of leaving the area where we have lived our whole lives a bit easier! Two years is a long time - but the last 2 have gone fast, so I can only hope that moving day will be upon us before we know it!! Is it too early to start buying seed packets? HA!!

We Found The House

2006-05-22T07:41:00.000-06:00

Well, we DID it!! We bought the house!! We prayed, did our homework, prayed some more, engaged a realtor in "small town" and we found the house!!

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and Morning Glory and the Dr met us at the airport. The Dr had to go back to work in the afternoon, but we took off with Morning Glory and went out to cruise the neighborhoods that had houses that appealed to us on line. Several had nice sized yards, but there were some that had yards that were practically non-existent!! We don't have any desire to have acreage, but we didn't want to be right on top of the neighbors either!!

We met the Realtor the next morning and set a course of action. One of the houses that I had gone back to on line several times was the first on the list. Nice neighborhood, space between houses - and a VIEW of mountains - with a little snow!! We went in and it was evident that this one would be one to hold up against other houses. It didn't have quite the massive greatroom I was hoping for, or the little breakfast room in addition to the dining room - but definitely workable!! We took off and looked at some others.

A word here to any of you that want to sell a house - clean it up and de-clutter it before you show it!!! One of the houses had a "jungle" in the living room and so much clutter and mess every where you looked we could hardly wait to get out!! Not good if you want to attract a buyer!!

Anyway, we went back and looked at the first house again, then out to see some more - then back to the first. We just couldn't get past that one!! We went back to the realtor's office and made the offer!!! It was accepted with a minor $$ adjustment the next afternoon! We are technically no longer homeless!! Our loan guy and realtor tell us that it will probably close in about 2 weeks!! The seller is out of state and is ready any time!

We unfortunately won't be living in it for a couple of years - until we retire, so we have asked the realtor to please manage it for us as a rental. He agreed, so we went and bought a nice refrigerator to have in it for renters and it will be delivered as soon as the escrow closes. Do I want to rent it out? - no, It is so pretty, I would love to move right in!! My husband wants to work a couple more years though, until he hits the "early retirement" birthday. Then we can move and start enjoying the house and that wonderful view!! We'll see if we make it - he is pretty excited about the house too!! So excited in fact, that he wanted to go look at furniture and we found a new bedroom set that we BOTH just loved!! Well, we ordered that and it will be delivered to a storage unit in Small Town in 3 months!! He was afraid that we wouldn't find something we liked as well later on, and he was so excited that we agreed on it that he wanted it now!! HA!! Works for me!! The more excited he gets about this move, the sooner we may do it!!

Well, everyone is up and moving about this morning - I smell the coffee! We are still at Morning Glory's house - we don't go home til Tuesday afternoon. I think she and I are going antiquing today!! I'll post pictures later when I get home and figure out how to do it!!

The Potter

2006-05-16T08:26:00.000-06:00

The wheel spins around and the lump of wet clay is wobbly and off center. The potter presses on it - hard - really hard - and forces the clay to become centered so the wobble goes away and it is smooth and still. The clay is satiny in her hands. If she closes her eyes she can feel it spinning, and when it is ready there is no unevenness. It is full of possibilities but totally yielded to the hands that are shaping it. Now it is ready to open to what the potter envisions. It may become purely decorative, or functional, or both, but with its own character and personality. There are areas that will be taken away to define the form, and the clay will discover its shape in the potter's hands. Later the potter will add color and put it through the fire, and the combination of the potter's intent and the intense heat will refine it and make it beautiful.

I discovered pottery several years ago when Computer Guy first went off to college, and The VP (younger son) would be following him in another year. I had been a stay-at-home mom and had been mostly out of the work force for a lot of years. It was time to prepare for a job that would help pay college bills - so I went back to college too! I always meant to get that accounting degree and the time was at hand. Those of you who have been to college know that they want you to have a "rounded" education, so even when you are an accounting major you have to take an art class! I'd heard about the "art appreciation" classes with their slide shows and reports on artists and decided that hand building pottery with clay sounded a lot more interesting!

Boy! Did I get hooked!! I discovered right off though, that hand-building took a lot of time and I was a bit bored with the tedium of it, but I was facinated watching the "wheel-throwing" folks work!! I watched and learned and sort of taught myself to throw during open lab times. I continued with my accounting requirements and graduated "cum laude" (there is something to be said for being in college on purpose!!) then got a good job using my new skills. And continuing the pottery classes became a part of my recreation!!

That was 16 years ago! I took 3 semesters off somewhere around the 5 year mark, then got started again in night classes at a Jr College near where I work. I go 1 or 2 nights a week and I don't think I will ever get tired of the feel of the clay in my hands!

I learned something else in working with the clay that I didn't expect! There is a song that has these lines: "You are the potter, I am the clay, Mold me and make me after Your will, . . while I am waiting yielded and still." Right now the rest escapes me, but those words have become mine! In the past I had no clue what I was really asking God to do to me! Getting a lump of clay from bumpy and unformed to yielded and still takes a great deal of pressure and pushing and molding!! This is not half-hearted prodding or casual suggestions!! By singing that song (with my usual gusto) I was actually giving God whole-hearted permission to really "work me over" according to His will, to make me functional for Him!! That realization has been eye-opening and growth-producing!! When I work that clay to make it usable for my purpose, I am brought face to face with how my Lord is working on me to make me usable for His!!

My "2 Things"

2006-05-15T16:56:00.000-06:00

Sounded like fun - so here goes!

2 things you compliment your husand on while in his presence

1. His terrific voice
2. His blue eyes

2 compliments you make about your husband to your friends

1. He's a very caring and loving man
2. He's extremely loyal

2 traits you married him for
1. He was cute
2. He had a great voice

2 days you cherished being together the most with your husband
1. The day we said good-bye to our home of 30 years
2. The day we had our first son (I need 3 here) & the day we had our 2nd son!

2 material things you would give your husband if you just inherited a fortune
1. His dream car
2. A Baltic Sea Cruise

2 things you would miss the most if he left for two weeks
1. His hugs
2. Eating dinner with him

2 thoughts that crossed your mind when you first met/saw your husband
1. He's really cute
2. How can I get him my phone number without embarassing myself?

2 favorite dates
1. Christmas Eve a few months after we met
2. Our 37th anniversary weekend last summer at a wonderful beach resort & spa!

2 funny odd things you love about your husband
1. His fingers get very twitchy when I have the clicker - he can hardly stand it!
2. He says he can't go to sleep before 11pm, but he falls asleep in his chair several times in the evening if he is watching tv!

2 places you have lived with your husband
1. LA County, California
2. Orange County, California

2 favorite vacations
1. England
2. Mississippi River Boat cruise

The Foo-Foo Machine

2006-05-08T11:28:00.000-06:00

My new sewing machine (Janome 6600) should be coming via UPS today - I am SO excited to get it!! I bought it at the quilt show and they were supposed to send it off last Monday! Not that I will completely abandon my trusty 1977 Kenmore, but the new one has a bunch of those really cool stitches that you can put on things you make for your granddaughter! (Until she is about, what - 5 - and has decided she does not like foo-foo?) I still have a few years to get in all the foo-foo her momma can handle!! HA!!

* * * *

Wahoo! It's here, and appears to be undamaged by shipping! The box is incredibly dirty, however, on every side! How does UPS get stuff sooo dirty!! Oh well - the box goes in the recycle bin anyway! Tonight the instruction book - tomorrow we sew!!

My Life Rating!

2006-05-05T10:18:00.000-06:00

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	8.7
Mind:	8.1
Body:	7.7
Spirit:	9.6
Friends/Family:	6.9
Love:	9.1
Finance:	8.2
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Hey! - I rate my friends/family at least a 9!! Try it and see what you come up with!!

The House Hunt

2006-05-05T08:24:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited - we have reservations to fly to our Northern Retirement Destination State (NRDS) next week to begin the search for a home! The plan is to buy a house there, live here in So Cal for another 2.5 years, then move to the home in the NRDS! We have been in contact with a realtor up there (we actually met him a year ago when we were thinking about buying property and building a house), and we will be spending some quality time with him!

I have given Super Realtor (SR) my wish-list, the list of deal makers and breakers and have searched the MLS lists to be able to send him things I am interested in - at least from the picture and the limited description. In my organized mind he will have a schedule of places to go, and the tax info as well as the association fee info for us on every house. I promise I won't be bitchy if he is totally disorganized!! HA!!

It is interesting how much and how little is in the description of homes for sale. For instance:

"This darling home has many upgrades, It is not your typical home. It has been professionally decorated. It has ceramic tile in kitchen & dining area, mandoor from garage to backyard, kitchen nook and many more. Beautifully painted colors, A truly comfortable home to be enjoyed."

Ok now, what is "not you typical home"? Is this a good or bad thing? From the 3 pictures they give you it is evident they have painted in colors that go with their furniture - - However - - they would not go with my furniture, so what use is their "professional decorating" to me? There is one picture inside of the house (the living room), one of the backyard and one of the front of the house. The sidebar tells me it is a 3 bedroom, but are any on the main floor or all upstairs? Is the master bedroom big enough to hold my bed, is there a separate shower and tub - or all in one? Does it have a separate living room or a den or a great room? What is a "mandoor"? Is the stove gas or electric - is there a pantry? And "many more" - - what? Who writes these descriptions anyway?? This is supposed to prompt me to run right out and look at it? Clicking on the "map this property" link only brought me to the generic town center - not the street address! So other than "south" I have no idea what part of town it is in!

Ok - enough griping! It's just that I am looking for homes 1000 miles away from where I live and I have so many more questions that they just don't address! If I ever do this again I will write my own description so the prospective buyer will have a better picture of what my house has to offer! And no pictures of dead grass in the back yard!!

I hadn't heard much from SR recently, except for a link he sent me for a house that was too old, on too much property and too expensive. I emailed him yesterday to make sure we were on the "same page" as far as what we wanted to look at and to make sure he did have time for us next week. We are hoping for at least 3, maybe more, concentrated days of looking at homes - and if he really didn't have the time in his schedule I wanted to give him an "out" if he wanted it. I realize we are sort of pushed for time since we will only be in town a week and would love to make an offer before we leave! Morning Glory has a realtor she worked with recently and we could contact him if necessary. Since I already had a connection with SR I did want to give him first shot, but I did want to make sure he really had time for us! His return email took about 5 minutes!! We are to be at his office at 9 the first morning and he said he has a bunch for us to look at!! Not only the ones I sent him but more beyond those! Wahoo!!

This whole thing is so exciting!! We are pretty sure that God is good with our plan so far since our home here sold so quickly (1 week, full price!) and we are not running up against any closed doors - so we are really trusting that He has the right home in NRDS is just waiting for us to claim it!

I AM too!

2006-05-02T08:49:00.002-06:00

I'm at work a little early this morning - and my phone is ringing because we have offices in the east and they have already been at work 2 hours! I'm not answering it yet - I'm blogging first!! I enjoyed Morning Glory's "meme" (? don't really know what that is, but that's what she called it!), so I decided to do it too!

I AM

I am a 30-yr old in a late 50's body!

I want to have the time to do the things I really enjoy and see all the places I want to see. I want to have a mind that is interested in everything!

I wish I hadn't let myself get as heavy as I did - I've slimmed down a lot, but I spent too many years apologizing to myself for the difference between the way I looked and the way I envisioned myself.

I hate it when friends are self-depreciating - Our talents and abilities are all so unique - God didn't create us better or worse - just different!

I miss my Grandpop - he died shortly after I was married. He was a wonderful storyteller and led such an interesting life - I would have loved for my boys to have known him.

I hear the office awakening around me as folks arrive for their work day - (I'd like to be hearing birds flirting in the spring garden I will have someday!)

I wonder if my husband and I will grow old together and be able to do the things we dream about

I regret saying things that have been hurtful to friends - I can apologize, but I can't make the words disappear
I am not as artistic as I would love to be - I have a bookkeeper's brain by nature and an art side that would love to be more developed

I dance every chance I get - and would love to take classes to learn to do it better

I sing first soprano, although I have sung tenor and alto when that was what was needed. I am loving the freedom of the melody in a song and the soaring high notes!

I cry a lot more often than I used to! Lots of things bring it on - a song, a friend's pain or joy, a hug from my granddaughters, the realization that Christ died for ME, having one daughter in law who openly loves me and another who openly hates me, having a Christian husband who loves me a lot!

I am not always as right as I would like to think I am!

I make with my hands a lot of things: pottery on a wheel, quilts, good food, clothing to wear, spreadsheets on a computer

I write a little in my blog - and I'm pretty decent on a email, but I put letters off til forever!

I confuse my husband by changing topics when a new thought comes cruising through my brain - and he's still on the last one

I need a lot of things to keep my mind and my hands active - sitting and watching tv for hours just doesn't cut it! I think I probably have a little ADD!!

I should probably get to work - it is after 8!! Alternately - I should like to garden once I retire and have the time to do it!

I start quilts and quite often don't get them finished!! (That should probably be under the "I should"! - I'll have time one of these days!!) For now - the only craft I have allowed myself in my 2.5 yr apartment stint is my sewing maching and unfinished quilts - there is hope!!

I finish my dessert, whether I got full on dinner or not!

I tag - I'm not really sure what tagging is about!! I'm just sort of out here! HA!!