Time for a Change

It is 12:05 am, Friday, November 27, 2009. Yesterday, Thursday, was Thanksgiving, and for me it turned into a wonderful day. We have become such a large family, and most of us live right here within less than 50 miles of each other, so it is very difficult to get altogether for any special occasion, so for a holiday like Thanksgiving, we seem to split up into several smaller groups. Today was one of those days. I spent the day with Judy and her family (Steve and Ruth, as the other two kids live in Texas), and was pleasantly surprised to have one of her sisters and her family with us. Just a small group, but we did have a wonderful time.

Today, Friday, I will be finishing up my packing for the move tomorrow. You would think, by the way I have been going at this for the last couple of weeks, that I had a whole house full of stuff to move miles and miles away. Actually, I only have one very small room, and I wll be moving into one room, only 30 miles away. But, when it came to packing, you would not believe how much I have acculumated. When I moved in here, I did not have very much stuff, because when I had my stroke in 2006, we weren't sure just what was going to happen to me, so the girls cleaned out my apartment, and only brought here what I really needed at the time. Over the past 3 1/2 yesrs, I have gradually brought in things that I had or needed, until I can't believe how much "stuff" I have. And I don't want to put most of it back into storage, so it will go with me. Doing the packing mostly by myself has made it seem like a major project, plus the fact that I cannot work for long periods of time. So, I pack a little, then I have to stop and rest awhile. I am really glad I started packing over two weeks ago. Thank goodness, I expect I will have plenty of help unpacking things, so it won't take me two weeks to get that done.

This move was such an unexpected thing to happen, but I think it will work out very well. The lady I will be living with is really very nice. I went and spent about l0 days with her a few weeks ago, and we seemed to get along very well. We will be excellent companions for each other. The move idea came from her, and her family, and they seem to be very pleased that I accepted her invitation. So, that also helps to make the move easier for me.

So, I will be off line for a few days. I have not set up a phone line down there yet, and won't until some time next week, and until I get that taken care of, I will not have email. So, I don't know just how long I will be away. Maybe not even long enough for you to miss me. I hope not, 'cause I think I would go bonkers if I had to be without my internet very long again.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and until I get back to you, be happy, and God Bless You all.

Miss me?

Sorry I've been away, but - it seems I've done it again - open mouth, insert foot. And, I have been bothered by it so much, I just haven't felt like visiting. I guess I really offended someone this time. I really didn't mean to, but that is what often happens to me. I express myself for one reason or another and wind up hurting someone very much. I am so truly sorry.

There hasn't been too much happening around here. I've been kinda busy, packing. In case you haven't figured it out, I am moving. I have been living here at the retirement center for 3 1/2 years, but now I am moving on. I never expected this to happen, but I think it is going to be a good thing. Quite a difference, that's for sure. Instad of living in an assisted living facility, I will be living in a private home, with another lady about my age. We have spent some time together, and I think it is going to work out very well. She has such a lovely home, a beautiful back yard with a patio. She lives in the hills southwest of Lincoln, CA, and from the patio there is such a beautiful view of the valley. At night you can see airplanes landing at an airport not too far away. It is so nice and peaceful there. People ask me if I am going to miss where I am. Of course I am. There are some very nice people here, and there are some not so nice. The old saying goes that you can miss anything. Even if you live with someone who is cruel, or you live with or next door to a barking dog, or a crying baby, you will miss that. Sometimes it will be in a sad way, and sometimes it will be something you will be glad to miss. I have both feelings about leaving here. But, I am looking forward to the move, and think it will be a good situation.

Yes, fall is definitely here. The weather has cooled off, to where it is in the 30's and 40's at night, and in the 60's usually in the daytime. One thing I always like about the fall is that as soon as the nights begin to cool down, the leaves on the trees begin to turn color. I went to town today, and the leaves are so pretty - there are whole trees that are bright yellow, some are dark red, some almost purple, and many that are mixed colors. They always talk about the trees in New
Englnad being so pretty in the fall. Well, maybe they are, but I think around here, they can be almost as pretty. If you travel east maybe 25 miles, more or less, you can get into the foothills, and then you get some really pretty trees. But, the ones right here in the valley, and even the city, are nothing to be scoffed at.

Well, I really didn't have much to say tonight, so I think I am just going to say goodnight, talk to you later.

Vacation -

Well, it's not really a vacation, but I am going to be away for a week or ten days, or so. So, don't rexpect to see any new blogs during that time. I will try to have some new ones lined up for when I get back.

Talk to you in a few days.

Beth

Special Days

Hello - It's been a couple of days since I wrote and I had a couple of ideas different from what I had thought about. But then, that's the way it's supposed to work, isn't it? When I get an idea, I write about it.

Today was a kind of "special day" in that my new friend, Vicki, invited me to start going to a Bible Study group with her. I have been wanting to start going to one for quite some time now, but I'm not sure I want to commit myself to six months or so of every Thursday morning for two hours. But, I'm going to try it.

It's also a special day, because it is Esther's birthday. She was surprised I even remembered it, with so many in the family. I have tried very hard to remember most of my family birthdays this year, and have done a pretty good job. I know there are some I have missed, and I do apologize to them. But, as for Esther, there is no way I could forget about her birthday. I might miss the date, but I will never forget the day. Esther was born at home, and I was actually there to assist. I have been at the hospital, and even in the room, when several of the granchildren, and great granchildren were born, but Esther is the only one where I actually assisted with the birth. I'm not going into much detail, because I haven't discussed it with her or her Mother, but it was something I will never forget.

I'm not going to write much tonight, just don't feel up to it, but I did want to mention these things. So, I will talk to you more, later.

This 'n that -.

Hi, it's me again. I have just a couple of quickies before I get down to the business at hand. Boy, did I screw up on my last posting. Have you ever heard the old song, I think it was Ray Stevens who did it, called "I'm My Own Grandpa"? Well, if you have, you'll know what I'm talking about. If you have never heard it, or read the words, you definitely should. Go to the search field on the internet and enter"I'm my own grandpa" and you will find several listings for it. OK, now that we have that under control, on my last post, I said my Grandmother White first entered into my life "when she married my Dad" or something like that. What I meant to say was that my Grandmother first entered my life (or story) when my MOTHER married my Dad. No, Dad didn't marry Grandma. That's only in the song.

Another mistake I made - I got the cart before the horse. In reviewing some other writings I had done about Dad, I discovered he was born at the place north of Arbuckle, where the sewer plant now is, and they moved from there to the Schleich ranch, and then to the "home" place north of town. I'll get into that further as I recover (or remember) some of what I had already researched.

Another thing. I got an email this morning from Georgia's (my #4 daughter) step-son, who told me he had been working on "another blog" and gave me the address. Well, that is some blog. I asked him where he was 30 or 40 years ago when my husband and I were in a severe financial bind. Of course, that was long before he was even in my life. But anyway, his blog is simply financial advice from a non-pro. I'm sure you have seen articles in magazines about "How I got Rid of $100,00 in debt" or some such title. Well, that is what this is, only this time it is written by my grandson. And, what a blog!! With his permission I am going to give you the address. It is interesting reading, even if you don't need his advice. And with today's economy, who couldn't use a little help, especially when it is from someone you know personally, and you feel you can really trust. So, go to www.FinancialFreakshow.com and see what he has to say. As I said, it's good reading, even if you don't need or want his help.

I relly am enjoying writing these posts, but I have to be careful, becuase I don't know who is going to be reading them, and words have a way of coming back to bite me. That's happened a couple times in the last few months. It is bad enough when you know that only a few people have heard your remarks, but in a situation like this, I don't know how many are reading my words - I would like to think that maybe there are many, and I don't want these words to bite me, so it is better they remain unsaid. I always think about the story that was told about a little child who had a habit of making very naughty remarks and comments about other people. In order to try to break him of this habit, his father gave him a bucket of feathers, and told him to go out and scatter them along the road. When he got back with an empty bucket, his father told him to go back and pick each one of them up. In the meantime, a gentle breeze had come up, and so, of course, the feathers had all blown away. The child remarked about that, to which the father said that words are like the feathers. Once they are spread around, there is no getting them back. So, I TRY to be careful what I say. Only God knows my thoughts, and I think he will understand and forgive me for the thoughts I am having right now.

I was going to try to inroduce you to my Father tonight, but I have to organize my information a little better, so maybe tomorrow. But for now, talk to you later.

Just me

OK, I think I got this thing figured out. So, a couple more trials, and then we will get down to serious business.

First of all, I am bored to death. I have been living in as Assisted Living Facility since June 2006. I had a stroke and the dr. said I should nevere live alone again. So, here I have been ever since. Don't get me wrong, actually I have a life of Riley. I don't have to do a blasted thing, literally. For the rent I pay, which seems high until you realize what I get for it, I can sit on my duff all day, and do nothing, I can watch TV or whatever I want. They provide 3 meals a day, plus snacks. That means no meal planning, no grocery shopping, no food preperation, and no dirty dishes to clean up. They do my laundry - hence no nickels in the laudromat, of course all the clothes have to be wash and wear (they don't do, and there is no way for me to do, any ironing). If I slept in a bed, which I haven't done in about four years, they would make my bed daily for me, change my sheets weekly (because of my back, I cannot make my bed). They clean my room (at least they are supposed to, I don't think they do what they should), clean my bathroom (I do have my own bathroom, toilet & basin, shower down the hall), supply me with T.P. and bath linenens a couple of times a week. I have a "private" room. It is 7.5 ft x 15 ft. You figure it out. 7.5x15=about 105 square feet. Yes, it is small, but it is ALL mine. I don't have to share with anyone else. And it is adequate for me, without a bed. Although the last person in this room did have a bed. I can watah TV whenever I want, as loud as I want, as late as I want, watch what I want. I don't watch much daytime TV but I do watch until about midnight. I have my computer which gives me games, email, etc. and now with my blog, I will have that to do. I read a lot, work puzzles, and read my Bible. Yes, read my Bible. In the last year, I have become much closer to God, through the church I am now attending. More about that later. But I am still lonely and bored. I seek human companionship. The other residents here are mostly mentally challenged (Altzheimers, etc.) and I just don't feel comfortable trying to visit with them. The activities they have are geared more to pre-school or kindergarten mentalaties, so I just spend most of my time in my room. I have my power wheel chair, so I do get out once in awhile that way. I go to church in Lincoln, whenever I can get a ride, and I have made many new friends there - again, more about that later. I mentioned how small the room is, and the fact that I have a private bath. In that bathroom is a shower - or was, it is not usable for some plumbing reason, so with a shower rod across it, it is my closet. The closet in the room is very, very small. I have wondered, and even asked some of the staff what this room was designed for. It is completely removed from the others, right across from the kitchen, and right next to an outdoor exit. It has the tiny closet, large bathroom, and really quite different from any of the other rooms. I was told by one of the staff members who has been here for years, that she thought it was designed as an office. But if that is the case, why the very large bathroom? Anyway, the other day I was looking at a floor plan of the building (actually intended as a fire escape plan) and noticed that all the other rooms were numbered, or identified as to their purpose (laundry, storeroom, etc.) And this room, it is identified by the letters I S O - guess what? Does that mean "isolation"? That would explain its remoteness to the other rooms, and the fact that it had its own shower. This is just a guess, but it makes a whole lot of sense.

See, when I get started, I don't know when to quit. So, if you check this out every day or two, you might be surprised what you will find. But, for now, I think this will do.

OK, the test worked, so here goes. Esther suggested I have a "theme". Hence the title "Beth, etc." That will cover just about anything I want to write about. Where did it come from? About 30 years ago, I had a ceramic shop of my own, and out of the clear blue sky, I picked the hame of Beth, etc. Actually I felt it was one way of includig the rest of my family, which is where the etc. came from. I thought it would be good here, because the blog is from Beth and can include just about anuthing I want to talk about, so that's where the etc. comes in.

I plan to talk about some of the things that happened in my childhood - things going on about my church, and just life in general. One thing I probably will not have is pictures. I know they are a major part of most blogs, but as far as I know, I have no way of adding pix to my blog. So, you are just going to have to read about my life, and not rely on pix. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. So I invite you as you read it, to respod, ask questions, or make comments. If you have siomething you don't understand or rant to know more about, just ask.

That's it for now - just a sort of an introduction.