Hello, again!!

I was just reading my 1-1-11 posting, and I am sorry I haven't written in the meantime. But these things just get away from me.

Granddaughter Esther and her husband had their baby, Wesley Philip Varner, II, on January 20. He weighed in in excess of 8#, and was over 20 inches long. Quote a bit bigger baby than Jenny's little Keeley. A couple of posts back I mentioned that with these two babies, and now Ruth expecting in May, I would probably not have any more babies in the family for the rest of 2011, and then just a few days after I made this comment, I learned that my stepgrandson Vinnie and his wife are expecting again in June. So you see, it just doesn't stop.

Our winter got off to a good, wet start, but then it went on vacation. We have had very little rain for the last several weeks. It has been more like spring. Beautiful sun shiny days, temperatures in the 60s and even the 70s, with very little rain. Now, they tell us this is all going to change. I believe starting tomorrow it is supposed to rain every day for the rest of the week. Beyond that, who knows. All I know is, I am sure glad I live in this part of California. It seems the rest of the country, even southern California, has really been having some severe weather. I'm glad I don't have to put up with that.

I subscribe to a bunch of magazines (11 I believe) and really enjoy them. Nothing to do with current events, sports, fashion, etc. Mostly they are home magazines and memory magazines. By this I mean Country, Country extra, Reminisce, Reminisce extra, Family Circle, Women's Day, Reader's Digest, etc. You may not be familiar with the first ones, but they are the kind that just never go out of date. I am often reminded of things from my youth by what I read in these magazines. In fact, in the Deember/January issue of Country I found an item that brought back some very vivid memories of not too long ago. It was just a short item called "A Lame Duck" and I quote - " A hunter stopped by the butcher shop to buy a duck. 'I'm sorry, but we have no ducks today' the butcher told him. 'How about a nice leg of lamb?' The hunter replied 'Don't be silly, I can't tell my wife I shot a leg of lamb, can I?'

This reminded me of a story about my husband, HRR. He was not a "typical" man, in that he was not one for any kind of sports - athletic, shooting, fishing, etc. One year the fellow he worked with at the county print shop talked HRR into going for a weekend fishing trip with some other guys. Well, when they came home, HRR was the pround possessor of three or four of the nicest fish - chinook salmon, and a couple of trout. I was so proud of him. We even made a bed in the grass to take pictures of his catch. Everything was fine until the next bank statement came in the mail, and there was a cancelled check made payable t a FISH FARM where he had purchased the fish he "caught". I don't remember being upset with him, but we sure had a lot of laughs over this situation thru the years, and this note in the magazine reminded me so much of this particular incident.

Most of the years since I have had a family I have bragged about how they all lived within 15 minutes or so of me. Well, that has sure change the past few years. Now my daughters are scattered - one in Marysville, one in Yuba City, one in Roseville, one in Nevada and one in Texas.
I have a grandson in Seattle, a granddaughter in Natomas (Sacramento) two grandkids in Texas, one in Oroville, a step in the Bay Area, a step in Virginia, a step in Seattle, and great grandchildren as above plus one in Tennessee. Sure not all close together any more. So, when I brag about 17 grandchildren, and 31 great grandchildren, it sounds like I am surrounded by family, but really they are pretty well scattered around and I don't get to enjoy them as much as I would like. Oh well ----

Well, it's getting late, and I'd better call this quits for now -

Later

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Yes, it is 1-1-11 and the start of a new year. May it be a Prosperous and Happy one for each of you. Do you realize the significance of the 1-1-11? The significance ito me is that if you use just one number for the month and date, and two for the year, they are all the same. Stop and think about it. How often does that happen? When will it happen again? Actually as I see it, the next time such a thing will happen will be on Veterans' Day, November 11, 2011 (11-11-11). Then such a number will not occur until 12-12-12. Then it won't happen for a very long time, as I see it. I can remember back in the '70s, thinking about how neat it would be to live to see the turn of the century (2000) and I thought "I will be 70 years old then - wow, that's old). Well, it has been 10 years since the turn of the century and I am now 80 years old. And, my great-grandchildren just born could very easily live to see the turn of the next century (2100) Wow!!

When I wote my Christmas blogs I mentioned the card I had received which said "this Christmas might feel different from some we have had---". Well, yes, this Christmas felt very different. It is the first time I can remember of having nothing special for pre Christmas. I didn't even get to go see the Christmas llights, something I really enjoy doing. When we were observing Christmas the Sunday before, I spent Christmas Eve alone several times, but this time it did seem different. My housemate went to her family for the evening, and I was left entirely alone - strange. Christmas morning, Kathy came and got me and took me to her home for the day. There was nothing too special about the day - she had lunch of a deli tray for sandwihes, a shrimp tray and non alcoholic beverages. Everyone had gone by about 2:30.

Oh, I missed the start. My granddaughter, Jenny, gave birth to her baby at 1:02 am Dec 24 (Christmas Eve Day). Keeley Nicole Boley was born at 1:02, Dec 24, 2010. She weighed 5#8 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long (I swear she can't be more than 15 1/2 inches. My smallest was 7#4 oz so Keeley seems so tiny. Anyway Christmas Day evening we went to Dave & Jenny's at about 4 pm and spent the evening with them. It was about 10:30 pm by the time I got back home, and then Kathy had to drive back to Marysville - another 45 minutes. So it was quite a busy day, and definitely different from any other.

We have had a very wet but uneventful week. I wanted to watch the New Years' fireworks from Old Sacramento last night, but it didn't work. Old Sac had two displays - one at 9 pm for the kids, and another at midnight - so parents did not have to keep their kids up so late. Anyway I thought maybe I could see them from our back patio, but the house right behind us makes that impossible. I did see one burst so I knew just where it was. That is such a beautiful house, and they must have the most fantastic views, but it sure screws up our being able to see things south of us. So, I watched the ll pm news and went to bed. I got up early enough this morning to watch the Rose Bowl Parade. I saw it on the Hallmark Channel (I didn't know it carried it) without commercial. Once in awhile they would run on the screen "The 122nd Rose Bowl Parade is being brought to you by *****" without making any interruption in the parade. It was really nice.

Well, I can't think of much else to write about right now, so I'll just repeat my wish - have a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

1-1-11