I finished my last post by commenting there was a funny story involving my ride on the boat on Lake Livingston. As I said, there were Pastor Ed, Judy, Darci, Jami, and myself. The pastor does not have his own boat landing, so he shares with someone else. To get from the street level to the boat dock, we had to go down quite an embankmant to the lake. Judy and I both knew I would never make it back up such a climb, so she told Pastor Ed as soon as we got on board, that he would have to figure out some place different to let me get off. OK, no problem. I am not very sure-footed about anything any more, and to get from the dock onto a boat, which is swaying on the water, was not an easy task for me, to begin with. But I made it with a little help, and the ride was absolutely beautiful. As I think I said, we traveled at sight-seeing speed, so it was very nice. As we got away from the shore a little bit, and around a bend, the wind came up a little, and we did get a little rough water. Not bad, but enough to get sprayed good once. It was such a nice day, getting wet just added to the fun of the trip. We were on the water a little over an hour, and decided to go in. The church they go to is on the waterfront and has a small pier, so that's where Pastor Ed headed. Now comes the fun. The water level is 18-24 inches below the pier, so we had to figure out how to get me off. He nosed the boat up right against the pier, but the landing on the boat was still at least 15 inches lower than the pier, besides the boat was bouncing quite a bit. He did have a piece of rope tied to the boat, so Darci got off first, and tied the rope to a post of the pier. That still didn't hold the boat very steady. Anyway, I managed to get hold of the post and pull myself into a sitting position on the pier, with my legs dangling over the water. Now you have to realise that I have not been able for years, to put my weight on my knees to get up off the ground or floor. So, OK, I'm sitting on the pier, with my feet dangling over the water. But how do I get to my feet? Again, you have to realise I am 79 years old, and weight about 185 pounds. The last several times I have fallen, it took two people to get me back onto my feet. Pastor Ed kept telling me he could lift me, and I didn't think he could. Anyway, I finally got my legs around to where they were on the pier. I started to scoot myself along, headed got the bank and a picnic bench where I thought I could get myself up. Judy just knew I was going to get a seat full of slivers. When Pastor Ed told me (and he, himself is about 60 years old) that he handles his mother all the time without any problem, I decided that maybe he could get me up. So, he got behind me, put his arms around under my armpits, and I managed to get at least one foot flat on the pier. Then, it just seemed so easy - he just lifted and there I was, standing on my own two feet. He made sure I got to the bench, and then he and Darci took the boat back to where we had started from so Darci could get the car. It was a wonderful, fun, experience, and I would gladly do it again - all of it!!
Gonna cut this short, - the trip home, later. That's all folks!!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Texas. Chapter 2
Friday, May 21
I’ll try to continue my trip to Texas. But before I do, I must digress to tell you about something that happened today. I swear my printer has a mind of its own. When I moved to Lincoln, I had a rinky-dink set up for my computer. Kathy bought me a nice console (armoire), Jenny gave me a slightly larger flat screen monitor, and Judy & Steve “loaned” me a 4 function printer – printer, copier, scanner, fax – which I am just beginning to enjoy (we haven’t hooked up the fax). I have to go at these things slowly, in order to absorb how they work, and not screw everything up all at once. I had to replace the black cartridge today, and of course, I messed up. I’m not sure why it got messed but anyway I got a paper jam, so I just decided to leave it and look at it in the morning, when I was fresh. So I went about my busyness, and three or four hours later I was sitting in my chair watching TV when all of a sudden the printer started up, and spit out the piece of paper that had been jammed. I had not even been able to get the paper drawer all the way in, but now it goes in fine. I have not yet tried printing anything, but when it spit out the paper, it had printed the info I had entered. Sometimes I wonder about some of these fancy machines. They really seem to have literal minds where they can straighten out their own problems.. Anyway I think it is fixed now.
Back to my Texas trip. Crossing Western Texas, the country was wide open and mostly desert. Near towns you might see a cultivated bit of farming, but not very much. We left US 10 at Junction and headed Northeast. It was getting dark so we didn’t really get to see much of the country. But you could tell things were a lot different, much more wooded country and much more population.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 – I put this aside, but will try to finish it now.
I had another little episode with the printer, and this time I did have to fix it myself. Working fine now, and should remain so for another six months – Ha!!
OK, now on to Texas. The drive from Esther’s to Dan’s was so different from what we had been through the last two days. It was an entirely different kind of landscape – lots of roads, lots of farms, and so much greenery. You get into what is called the “Piney Woods”. Actually, it is wooded country with lots of pine trees. They are not the kind of pine trees we are used to seeing – much shorter and rounder, and they grow so thick, it is almost impossible to go through them. I understand they are a terrific haven for deer (and I suppose other smaller animals).
Dan & Darci live in a store-front that has been made into a home. It is really very nice. Because it was once a store, there is no front yard, just a very small space between the front landing (porch) and the parking lot. There is no frontage street, and the parking lot opens right directly onto the main highway, which is a four-lane divided highway. You would think it would be very noisy, but surprisingly, it is not. The room Judy and I slept in is on the front of the building, and we really didn’t notice the noise. The front bedroom of the house we lived in on 3rd Street in Meridian was much noisier. Darci’s Mom & Dad live in a house on the lot right next door (west) and Grandma Dorothy has a shop on the next lot to the west. Darci’s Mom, Beverly, also has a business of manufacuting and distributing skin care products. It all started with body soap, and has since expanded to quite a number of products, manufactured by Bards, LLC of Livingston, TX. Their body and facial cream is sold under the TM name of “touche’ mu”. All the products are based on Emu oil. They have developed quite a business.
Anyway, Darci had planned quite a few things to entertain me, but because this was actually a business trip for Judy, we didn’t get to do some of the things she had planned. We went to their music practice on Thursday evening (Dan plays in the praise band, and Darci sings with some others. I understand she is the church music director). Sunday morning, we went to church and then a group of us went to lunch. I can’t remember the name of the place, but they were featuring boiled Craw Dads – only I think they call them Cray Fish. An order is 3 pounds, and is served in a cardboard box. Don’t worry, I didn’t order them, but the Pastor’s wife did, and she gave me my first taste. They’re very much like small lobsters, but too much work for me. My Dad used to say about artichokes that “you could starve to death eating them”, and that is just how I feel about the CrawDads. I enjoy my food too much to have to work that hard to eat.
We went out to dinner a couple of times, ordered in a few times, and actually only cooked a couple of times. We went for dinner one evening with some of the kids’ friends. They live in a home that is somewhere around 100 years old, and they are completely redoing it. I would love to go back in a year or so to see what they have accomplished. He is doing all the work himself, and is doing a beautiful job. They have had their second little girl since I was there, so I know there lives are very full.
Wes and Esther came over on Friday evening, and spent the night. It is about 200 miles from Georgetown to Livingston. Actually, they stayed at the Holiday Express Inn, where Darci’s Mom is the desk clerk. There just isn’t room for them to stay at Dan’s house. Esther cooked a lovely dinner for all of us that evening (Salmon, sweet potatoes, and veggies). Esther is a very good cook. They are following a special dietary program for a specific time, and I guess it was easier to provide the meal (buy & prepare) than to try to get someone else to cook the way she wanted. Anyway, it was very nice to have dinner all together.
Steve decided to go to Texas to finalize the business deal they were working on, and that would have been a real problem coming home, with the three of us, all our luggage, and my chair (yes, Judy even took a recliner with us for me to sleep in), so we decided I should fly home. So, that was planned for Thursday. So, Wednesday afternoon, Judy, Darci, little Jami, and I took a ride out to Livingston Dam. The town of Livingston is located on/near a rather large lake, area-wise. Actually, I believe the deepest part of the lake is about 28 feet deep, but it has a very large surface. It is a man made lake, and the dam has a beautiful overflow. The Dam is probably 75 to 100 feet wide, but it is only about 10-12 feet high. But it is beautiful. Then, Thursday morning, the Pastor, Judy, Darci, Jami and I went out on the lake in his pontoon boat. It has a passenger capacity of about 16, and it was a beautiful ride. I didn’t realize he was just traveling at little more than idling speed, but it was nice to be able to see so much of the shoreline. Another time, I would like to actually get out onto the lake more, and even go all the way around it. But this was really very nice.
There are really a couple of humorous stories about this ride, plus lots to tell about the trip home, but I think I’ll save that for next time.
For now, that’s all folks!
I’ll try to continue my trip to Texas. But before I do, I must digress to tell you about something that happened today. I swear my printer has a mind of its own. When I moved to Lincoln, I had a rinky-dink set up for my computer. Kathy bought me a nice console (armoire), Jenny gave me a slightly larger flat screen monitor, and Judy & Steve “loaned” me a 4 function printer – printer, copier, scanner, fax – which I am just beginning to enjoy (we haven’t hooked up the fax). I have to go at these things slowly, in order to absorb how they work, and not screw everything up all at once. I had to replace the black cartridge today, and of course, I messed up. I’m not sure why it got messed but anyway I got a paper jam, so I just decided to leave it and look at it in the morning, when I was fresh. So I went about my busyness, and three or four hours later I was sitting in my chair watching TV when all of a sudden the printer started up, and spit out the piece of paper that had been jammed. I had not even been able to get the paper drawer all the way in, but now it goes in fine. I have not yet tried printing anything, but when it spit out the paper, it had printed the info I had entered. Sometimes I wonder about some of these fancy machines. They really seem to have literal minds where they can straighten out their own problems.. Anyway I think it is fixed now.
Back to my Texas trip. Crossing Western Texas, the country was wide open and mostly desert. Near towns you might see a cultivated bit of farming, but not very much. We left US 10 at Junction and headed Northeast. It was getting dark so we didn’t really get to see much of the country. But you could tell things were a lot different, much more wooded country and much more population.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 – I put this aside, but will try to finish it now.
I had another little episode with the printer, and this time I did have to fix it myself. Working fine now, and should remain so for another six months – Ha!!
OK, now on to Texas. The drive from Esther’s to Dan’s was so different from what we had been through the last two days. It was an entirely different kind of landscape – lots of roads, lots of farms, and so much greenery. You get into what is called the “Piney Woods”. Actually, it is wooded country with lots of pine trees. They are not the kind of pine trees we are used to seeing – much shorter and rounder, and they grow so thick, it is almost impossible to go through them. I understand they are a terrific haven for deer (and I suppose other smaller animals).
Dan & Darci live in a store-front that has been made into a home. It is really very nice. Because it was once a store, there is no front yard, just a very small space between the front landing (porch) and the parking lot. There is no frontage street, and the parking lot opens right directly onto the main highway, which is a four-lane divided highway. You would think it would be very noisy, but surprisingly, it is not. The room Judy and I slept in is on the front of the building, and we really didn’t notice the noise. The front bedroom of the house we lived in on 3rd Street in Meridian was much noisier. Darci’s Mom & Dad live in a house on the lot right next door (west) and Grandma Dorothy has a shop on the next lot to the west. Darci’s Mom, Beverly, also has a business of manufacuting and distributing skin care products. It all started with body soap, and has since expanded to quite a number of products, manufactured by Bards, LLC of Livingston, TX. Their body and facial cream is sold under the TM name of “touche’ mu”. All the products are based on Emu oil. They have developed quite a business.
Anyway, Darci had planned quite a few things to entertain me, but because this was actually a business trip for Judy, we didn’t get to do some of the things she had planned. We went to their music practice on Thursday evening (Dan plays in the praise band, and Darci sings with some others. I understand she is the church music director). Sunday morning, we went to church and then a group of us went to lunch. I can’t remember the name of the place, but they were featuring boiled Craw Dads – only I think they call them Cray Fish. An order is 3 pounds, and is served in a cardboard box. Don’t worry, I didn’t order them, but the Pastor’s wife did, and she gave me my first taste. They’re very much like small lobsters, but too much work for me. My Dad used to say about artichokes that “you could starve to death eating them”, and that is just how I feel about the CrawDads. I enjoy my food too much to have to work that hard to eat.
We went out to dinner a couple of times, ordered in a few times, and actually only cooked a couple of times. We went for dinner one evening with some of the kids’ friends. They live in a home that is somewhere around 100 years old, and they are completely redoing it. I would love to go back in a year or so to see what they have accomplished. He is doing all the work himself, and is doing a beautiful job. They have had their second little girl since I was there, so I know there lives are very full.
Wes and Esther came over on Friday evening, and spent the night. It is about 200 miles from Georgetown to Livingston. Actually, they stayed at the Holiday Express Inn, where Darci’s Mom is the desk clerk. There just isn’t room for them to stay at Dan’s house. Esther cooked a lovely dinner for all of us that evening (Salmon, sweet potatoes, and veggies). Esther is a very good cook. They are following a special dietary program for a specific time, and I guess it was easier to provide the meal (buy & prepare) than to try to get someone else to cook the way she wanted. Anyway, it was very nice to have dinner all together.
Steve decided to go to Texas to finalize the business deal they were working on, and that would have been a real problem coming home, with the three of us, all our luggage, and my chair (yes, Judy even took a recliner with us for me to sleep in), so we decided I should fly home. So, that was planned for Thursday. So, Wednesday afternoon, Judy, Darci, little Jami, and I took a ride out to Livingston Dam. The town of Livingston is located on/near a rather large lake, area-wise. Actually, I believe the deepest part of the lake is about 28 feet deep, but it has a very large surface. It is a man made lake, and the dam has a beautiful overflow. The Dam is probably 75 to 100 feet wide, but it is only about 10-12 feet high. But it is beautiful. Then, Thursday morning, the Pastor, Judy, Darci, Jami and I went out on the lake in his pontoon boat. It has a passenger capacity of about 16, and it was a beautiful ride. I didn’t realize he was just traveling at little more than idling speed, but it was nice to be able to see so much of the shoreline. Another time, I would like to actually get out onto the lake more, and even go all the way around it. But this was really very nice.
There are really a couple of humorous stories about this ride, plus lots to tell about the trip home, but I think I’ll save that for next time.
For now, that’s all folks!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Texas, here I come!!
Hello, again!! Did you think I had gotten lost? Well, I was all enthused about writing this blog, and then I gues, like I do with almost everything else in my life, I didn't get the response I expected, got discouraged, and kind of lost interest in writing. A few days ago, a friend kinda got after me because she hadn't read anything in my blog about my latest adventure, so I decided maybe I should write again. So come on, friend, if you read this, drop a comment so I'll know you are there.
I was just rereading all my blogs, at least the last few months, and I could not believe the typo errors. And I try so hard not to let any get thru. Oh well, I hope you know what I mean by what I do say. I did not realize it had been almost six months since I had written anything. My last blog was best wishes for a wonderful "New Year". I hope that is proving to be the case for you, at least most of you. Things are going well for me. I am still in Lincoln, with my friend. Things are not working out as I had expected, but doing OK. I am easily led to expect certain things from casual remarks and then when things don't materialize as I "expected" I can be seriously disappointed. And that has happened several times in the last few months, particularly as related to my move. But, I am living with it.
I guess the weather if always a good topic. Other than the snow in December, we have not had an exceptional winter. We have had quite a bit more rain than the last couple of years, which is a good thing. Our reservoirs are much nearer to capacity than they have been for several years. The spring has been a little on the cool, wet, side compared to recent years. We have had a few days in the 80's, but still below normal temps for this time of year. And still getting some showers and snow in the higher elevations of the mountains.
I have mentioned ArtieMae's family, Diane and Larry. I said the three of them have a number of health problems. And since I posted last, Artiemae had a small heart attack, Larry had triple by-pass surgery, Diane broke her foot, and even the dog has had minor surgery. So far, so good, for me. I am still plugging along with the same health situations I have had for several years. I go to the doctor next month for my first check up in about six months, so we whall see what he has to say then.
I have recently estblished a correspondence relationship with a lady from Spokane, WN who is connected to HRR's family. She is not a blood relation, but she is related to some of his relatives. So between us, we are trying to put together more of our family histories. I don't know how many people other then my family read this, but if there is anyone there from the Whitman county area of Washington, perhaps you would like to join us in our search for some of the histories of that area.
I mentioned my "latest adventurre". I think I have said before that I have two grandchildren living in Texas. Esther is in Georgetown (near Austin) and Dan is in Livingston (about an hour north of Houston). Well, a couple of weeks ago, I got a call about 7:30 Saturday evening from daughter Judy, asking me to go to Texas with her. When I asked when? she said "tomorrow morning". So I jumped at the chance. We left my place at 7 am on Sunday, and she drove pretty hard. We spent one night on the road, and believe it or not, I actually spent the whole night in a bed ( I usually sleep in a recliner). It seemed like we drove awfully hard, but when you consider that the speed limits are anywhere from 65 to 80 mph, of course you are going to travel hard. We only stopped for gas, getting our potty breaks and meals that way. We made it into Georgetown about 11 pm on Monday night. We had lunch with Esther & Wes on Tuesday, and I got to meet Wes' mother. Then we left Georgetown about 2 pm and got to Dan's about 10:30 Tuesday night.
Well, I think this is a pretty good place to stop. I'll continue this story in a day or two. All in all, it was a good trip and lots to tell. God Bless -
Beth
I was just rereading all my blogs, at least the last few months, and I could not believe the typo errors. And I try so hard not to let any get thru. Oh well, I hope you know what I mean by what I do say. I did not realize it had been almost six months since I had written anything. My last blog was best wishes for a wonderful "New Year". I hope that is proving to be the case for you, at least most of you. Things are going well for me. I am still in Lincoln, with my friend. Things are not working out as I had expected, but doing OK. I am easily led to expect certain things from casual remarks and then when things don't materialize as I "expected" I can be seriously disappointed. And that has happened several times in the last few months, particularly as related to my move. But, I am living with it.
I guess the weather if always a good topic. Other than the snow in December, we have not had an exceptional winter. We have had quite a bit more rain than the last couple of years, which is a good thing. Our reservoirs are much nearer to capacity than they have been for several years. The spring has been a little on the cool, wet, side compared to recent years. We have had a few days in the 80's, but still below normal temps for this time of year. And still getting some showers and snow in the higher elevations of the mountains.
I have mentioned ArtieMae's family, Diane and Larry. I said the three of them have a number of health problems. And since I posted last, Artiemae had a small heart attack, Larry had triple by-pass surgery, Diane broke her foot, and even the dog has had minor surgery. So far, so good, for me. I am still plugging along with the same health situations I have had for several years. I go to the doctor next month for my first check up in about six months, so we whall see what he has to say then.
I have recently estblished a correspondence relationship with a lady from Spokane, WN who is connected to HRR's family. She is not a blood relation, but she is related to some of his relatives. So between us, we are trying to put together more of our family histories. I don't know how many people other then my family read this, but if there is anyone there from the Whitman county area of Washington, perhaps you would like to join us in our search for some of the histories of that area.
I mentioned my "latest adventurre". I think I have said before that I have two grandchildren living in Texas. Esther is in Georgetown (near Austin) and Dan is in Livingston (about an hour north of Houston). Well, a couple of weeks ago, I got a call about 7:30 Saturday evening from daughter Judy, asking me to go to Texas with her. When I asked when? she said "tomorrow morning". So I jumped at the chance. We left my place at 7 am on Sunday, and she drove pretty hard. We spent one night on the road, and believe it or not, I actually spent the whole night in a bed ( I usually sleep in a recliner). It seemed like we drove awfully hard, but when you consider that the speed limits are anywhere from 65 to 80 mph, of course you are going to travel hard. We only stopped for gas, getting our potty breaks and meals that way. We made it into Georgetown about 11 pm on Monday night. We had lunch with Esther & Wes on Tuesday, and I got to meet Wes' mother. Then we left Georgetown about 2 pm and got to Dan's about 10:30 Tuesday night.
Well, I think this is a pretty good place to stop. I'll continue this story in a day or two. All in all, it was a good trip and lots to tell. God Bless -
Beth
Sunday, January 3, 2010
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Yes, I do wish for each of you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!
New Year's eve day was a very interesting day for me. I had a doctor's appointment, which had been postponed from an earlier date, and the doctor was not going to be here for this one, and they asked if I wanted to change it again. It was decided that I should go ahead and keep this visit even tho I would be seeing a Doctor's Assistant instead of my regular doctor (cardiologist). As it turned out, I am really glad we went ahead with the appointment. I had this happen once before and was very disappointed with the lady I saw instead of the doctor. I felt it was kind of a "brush off" appointment. But not this time. This lady was super!!. We had to wait about an hour to see her, but if she spent as much time with all her patients as she did with me, no wonder. I had probably the most thorough visit I have had in a long time. She had an EKG done. (That used to be a major project, but it is so simple now, it only taked a few minutes. Then she spent about 30 minutes (at least) with us. I have a heart murmur, but had never heard it. She let me listen to her heart (normal) and then let me listen to mine so I could hear what the murmur sounded like. She even let my daughter listen, too. She explained what the murmur really was, and really gave me a good checking. I felt very good when I left her. I was with Kathy and she had an appointment later, so we got that one in too.
That day was my greatgranddaughter Emily's birthday, so we went by to pick up another gr-gr-granddaughter, McKenna. Dinner at Kathy's house at 6 pm, and I was supposed to meet my ride back to Lincoln at 7 :15 pm in Marysville, at McDonald's. We never thought anything about it, but when we got to McD's, they were just closing up. At 7 PM no less. My ride called about 10 minutes later to tell me she was on her way, but before she got there, she called again to say that due to an emergency, she had to go back home, and didn't know if they would make it at all. So, we decided to go back and finish the birthday party. I never thought anymore about it, but Michael had been working on getting an adjustment to my phone, and had actually made matters worse, so when my ride called at 8:05, I didn't get the call. So, after we had our cake and icecream, and the gifts had been opened, I happened to look at my phone and had missed another call from my ride. Too late, now, someone was just going to have to bring me back to Lincoln. They had a New Year"s Eve party at the church, so Kathy brought me bavk to the church, met a few of my friends, and then I got a ride on home from one of the church families. All in all, a very busy but interesting day.
Nothing else exciting to talk about, so until next time - have a wonderful, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
New Year's eve day was a very interesting day for me. I had a doctor's appointment, which had been postponed from an earlier date, and the doctor was not going to be here for this one, and they asked if I wanted to change it again. It was decided that I should go ahead and keep this visit even tho I would be seeing a Doctor's Assistant instead of my regular doctor (cardiologist). As it turned out, I am really glad we went ahead with the appointment. I had this happen once before and was very disappointed with the lady I saw instead of the doctor. I felt it was kind of a "brush off" appointment. But not this time. This lady was super!!. We had to wait about an hour to see her, but if she spent as much time with all her patients as she did with me, no wonder. I had probably the most thorough visit I have had in a long time. She had an EKG done. (That used to be a major project, but it is so simple now, it only taked a few minutes. Then she spent about 30 minutes (at least) with us. I have a heart murmur, but had never heard it. She let me listen to her heart (normal) and then let me listen to mine so I could hear what the murmur sounded like. She even let my daughter listen, too. She explained what the murmur really was, and really gave me a good checking. I felt very good when I left her. I was with Kathy and she had an appointment later, so we got that one in too.
That day was my greatgranddaughter Emily's birthday, so we went by to pick up another gr-gr-granddaughter, McKenna. Dinner at Kathy's house at 6 pm, and I was supposed to meet my ride back to Lincoln at 7 :15 pm in Marysville, at McDonald's. We never thought anything about it, but when we got to McD's, they were just closing up. At 7 PM no less. My ride called about 10 minutes later to tell me she was on her way, but before she got there, she called again to say that due to an emergency, she had to go back home, and didn't know if they would make it at all. So, we decided to go back and finish the birthday party. I never thought anymore about it, but Michael had been working on getting an adjustment to my phone, and had actually made matters worse, so when my ride called at 8:05, I didn't get the call. So, after we had our cake and icecream, and the gifts had been opened, I happened to look at my phone and had missed another call from my ride. Too late, now, someone was just going to have to bring me back to Lincoln. They had a New Year"s Eve party at the church, so Kathy brought me bavk to the church, met a few of my friends, and then I got a ride on home from one of the church families. All in all, a very busy but interesting day.
Nothing else exciting to talk about, so until next time - have a wonderful, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Yes, I know it is after Christmas, but I hope you all had a wonderful day (and season) I know I did.
For the past several years, Christmas has not meant much to me, but for some reason this year it turned out very nice. I wonder if maybe it was because I didn't expect much. Of course having moved just a month before, left me kind of wondering just what would happen. But, I have been truly blessed. It has been just wonderful.
Special occassions often lead to traditions, and such has been the case with my family and Christmas. From the time I was a little girl, Christmas always meant spending Christmas with my Dad's mother, Grandma Arcand, and that side of the family. We often spent most of Christmas day with my Mother's Mom and Sister who lived in the bay area. After that part stopped for some reason, we continued to spend Christmas Eve with Grandma A, until she passed away in 1947, and then it was still Christmas Eve with my Aunt & Uncle. My uncle died in the 50's, but my Aunt continued with Christmas Eve. The last one we had was in 1971. She passed away the next week in Alaska. Then the Christmas tradition kind of went by the wayside. Then in about 1989, after HRR and I had seperated, we stated trying the get the family together again, but the older girls were married and having families of their own, so there was much conflect for Christmas Eve or even Christmas Day. So, we started getting the family together on the Sunday before Christmas. This we did for years, even when I was living in an apartment in Woodland for two seasons. When I moved into the Senior Aparttments in Yuba City, and could no longer host such a group, the family took over. Michael had us for a couple of years, Becky had it one year, Judy had it one year, and then we had it at the Odd Fellows hall in Yuba City one or two years. We had stopped exchanging gifts, for a number of reasons, and somehow, it just lost a lot of the feeling, at least to me. I think the fact that I was no longer working, and could not afford to "gift" the way I had, probably had a lot to do with sppoiling Christmas for me. So this year, even after the invitations had been sent out, it was decided not to have the "family" gethering again. Of course, I was sad to see it happen, but I had been expecting it for a couple of years. And, on my part, I think it turned out better, even doing it this way. All of the sisters did not get to spend Christmas together, but that wouldn't have happened anyway; one was in Texas with part of her family; another lives in Nevada; so they would not have all been together anyway. But by doing it this way, I spent Christmas Eve with one daughter and her family (eleven out of a possible 16), Then I went over to a granddaughter's to spend the night and have Christmas morning with her family - 7 of us here, and then we went to another daughter for Christmas day - 24 here. We really got to visit with each other much better, without trying to have all of us together at one place. Later in the evening, the daughter I had spent the day with brought me home. All in all it was a wonderful Christmas for me!!
And really, that wasn't all. Three different times during the week before Christmas, friends from church had taken me out to see the lighted houses. This is something I have always enjoyed, and man, they really do it up right down here. Although I was told, things were not as decorated as they have sometimes been - good old "economy" you know. There is one section in Rocklin where there are about five or six blocks where every house is really lit up. And, all with themes - "Precious Mements", "Popeye", "Snoopy" and just about every children's story you can think of. They had music playing, and there were people walking up and down the street. It was very imprssive, and a beautiful night to do it. Oh, yes, we also had a very nice Christmas party for the OASIS group of the church. We have about one hundred people who are considered "members" of this group and there were between 40 &50 there. Members of the church had prepared a Prime Rib dinner. Very good. It was a dreee-up party and really had a holiday atmosphere. We exchanged gifts (each person brought an ornament to exchange) and it was just a very nice evening.
So, it has been a very pleasant Christmas for me. I hope each of you have some special memories to keep about this year, too. And may your New Year be the best you have had. Right now, things are pretty tough for a lot of people, maybe even one of you. My prayer is that this next year will be a very good one for each of you, and as I said, may you keep many good memories with you. God Bless you all.
For the past several years, Christmas has not meant much to me, but for some reason this year it turned out very nice. I wonder if maybe it was because I didn't expect much. Of course having moved just a month before, left me kind of wondering just what would happen. But, I have been truly blessed. It has been just wonderful.
Special occassions often lead to traditions, and such has been the case with my family and Christmas. From the time I was a little girl, Christmas always meant spending Christmas with my Dad's mother, Grandma Arcand, and that side of the family. We often spent most of Christmas day with my Mother's Mom and Sister who lived in the bay area. After that part stopped for some reason, we continued to spend Christmas Eve with Grandma A, until she passed away in 1947, and then it was still Christmas Eve with my Aunt & Uncle. My uncle died in the 50's, but my Aunt continued with Christmas Eve. The last one we had was in 1971. She passed away the next week in Alaska. Then the Christmas tradition kind of went by the wayside. Then in about 1989, after HRR and I had seperated, we stated trying the get the family together again, but the older girls were married and having families of their own, so there was much conflect for Christmas Eve or even Christmas Day. So, we started getting the family together on the Sunday before Christmas. This we did for years, even when I was living in an apartment in Woodland for two seasons. When I moved into the Senior Aparttments in Yuba City, and could no longer host such a group, the family took over. Michael had us for a couple of years, Becky had it one year, Judy had it one year, and then we had it at the Odd Fellows hall in Yuba City one or two years. We had stopped exchanging gifts, for a number of reasons, and somehow, it just lost a lot of the feeling, at least to me. I think the fact that I was no longer working, and could not afford to "gift" the way I had, probably had a lot to do with sppoiling Christmas for me. So this year, even after the invitations had been sent out, it was decided not to have the "family" gethering again. Of course, I was sad to see it happen, but I had been expecting it for a couple of years. And, on my part, I think it turned out better, even doing it this way. All of the sisters did not get to spend Christmas together, but that wouldn't have happened anyway; one was in Texas with part of her family; another lives in Nevada; so they would not have all been together anyway. But by doing it this way, I spent Christmas Eve with one daughter and her family (eleven out of a possible 16), Then I went over to a granddaughter's to spend the night and have Christmas morning with her family - 7 of us here, and then we went to another daughter for Christmas day - 24 here. We really got to visit with each other much better, without trying to have all of us together at one place. Later in the evening, the daughter I had spent the day with brought me home. All in all it was a wonderful Christmas for me!!
And really, that wasn't all. Three different times during the week before Christmas, friends from church had taken me out to see the lighted houses. This is something I have always enjoyed, and man, they really do it up right down here. Although I was told, things were not as decorated as they have sometimes been - good old "economy" you know. There is one section in Rocklin where there are about five or six blocks where every house is really lit up. And, all with themes - "Precious Mements", "Popeye", "Snoopy" and just about every children's story you can think of. They had music playing, and there were people walking up and down the street. It was very imprssive, and a beautiful night to do it. Oh, yes, we also had a very nice Christmas party for the OASIS group of the church. We have about one hundred people who are considered "members" of this group and there were between 40 &50 there. Members of the church had prepared a Prime Rib dinner. Very good. It was a dreee-up party and really had a holiday atmosphere. We exchanged gifts (each person brought an ornament to exchange) and it was just a very nice evening.
So, it has been a very pleasant Christmas for me. I hope each of you have some special memories to keep about this year, too. And may your New Year be the best you have had. Right now, things are pretty tough for a lot of people, maybe even one of you. My prayer is that this next year will be a very good one for each of you, and as I said, may you keep many good memories with you. God Bless you all.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
I've moved, cont'd
I was just rereading my post from the other day, and I cannot believe the errors in it. I must not have proofed it before I posted it. But, I hope you understood what I was saying. There didn't seem to be anything that changed the context or meaning of the phrase or word.
I mentioned that I was still having some problems with my computer, but I think they are all worked out now. It is so good to be playing my games again.
Artymae is a lady a little bit younger than myself, with many physical problems. Actually, she is probably more able to do things than I am, but she has a multitude of health problems. She has the normal old-age problems of high blood presure, and a couple others, but she has leukemia, a heart condition, a disease called Hashimoto's (have no idea what it is), and I don't know what else. She almost independently supports a pharmacy. Her daughter, Diane, and her husband, Larry help. Last summer Artymae took a very nasty fall at Target, hurting herself badly. She has not fully recovered from that, and it is one of the reasons they were glad to have an opportunity to have someone with her. I try not to make any more work for her, because I can do so little to help. I do most of my own cooking, take care of my own room, unload the dishwasher, etc. , but most of the normal housework, she does. As she says, "I would be doing it any way, and you are not adding to the work". She has a couple of granddaughters who help her out quite a bit. And her daughter and son-in-law provide most of her transportation, (and mine).
The house is in a Del Webb senior development. It is really very nice - much nicer than any I have ever lived in. She has it so nicely furnished, and it is very comfortable. She has this adorable little dog whose name is Foxy Duncan. We just call him Duncan. He is a Chihuahua/Pomeranian cross, about 10 years old. And we are such good friends. He is really sweet. Being designed as a senior retirement home, it has only two bedrooms (mine is the spare, and that is why it is quite small), but hers is very large. The living area is almost like a great room. It has a lovely kitchen. The range has gas burners, but an electric oven. And I have never liked gas to cook with. I was told yesterday that there is another room which is supposed to be a third beroom, but it doesn't really fit that description. She has it set up as a computer room, and she has a futon in there, so she does have an extra bed if she needs it. It has a nice front yard, with a courtyard just outside the front door. The back yard is fairly large, with a wrought iron fence all around, nice lawn and beautiful patio. The view out the back yard is very nice. There is a ravine right behind the house, and by looking off to the southwest, you can see over a very large area, and this will never be blocked by other buildings, by the way the land lays. This is southeast of Lincoln, in the foothills. It is nice to sit out on the patio in the evening and see the lights and watch planes land at a local airport. We saw a small bear in the ravine a few days ago. I didn't realize it was a bear at the time, but the more I think about it, the more I believe that is what it was. Last night I sat in my room, and I could hear an owl. First one I have heard in years. Last week we had SNOW. They tell me that doesn't happen very often. But, it was so neat to wake up to about 2 inches of snow on the ground. It fell during the night and was all gone by about ll am. But it was so pretty.
I think this is about enough for now - catch you later.
I mentioned that I was still having some problems with my computer, but I think they are all worked out now. It is so good to be playing my games again.
Artymae is a lady a little bit younger than myself, with many physical problems. Actually, she is probably more able to do things than I am, but she has a multitude of health problems. She has the normal old-age problems of high blood presure, and a couple others, but she has leukemia, a heart condition, a disease called Hashimoto's (have no idea what it is), and I don't know what else. She almost independently supports a pharmacy. Her daughter, Diane, and her husband, Larry help. Last summer Artymae took a very nasty fall at Target, hurting herself badly. She has not fully recovered from that, and it is one of the reasons they were glad to have an opportunity to have someone with her. I try not to make any more work for her, because I can do so little to help. I do most of my own cooking, take care of my own room, unload the dishwasher, etc. , but most of the normal housework, she does. As she says, "I would be doing it any way, and you are not adding to the work". She has a couple of granddaughters who help her out quite a bit. And her daughter and son-in-law provide most of her transportation, (and mine).
The house is in a Del Webb senior development. It is really very nice - much nicer than any I have ever lived in. She has it so nicely furnished, and it is very comfortable. She has this adorable little dog whose name is Foxy Duncan. We just call him Duncan. He is a Chihuahua/Pomeranian cross, about 10 years old. And we are such good friends. He is really sweet. Being designed as a senior retirement home, it has only two bedrooms (mine is the spare, and that is why it is quite small), but hers is very large. The living area is almost like a great room. It has a lovely kitchen. The range has gas burners, but an electric oven. And I have never liked gas to cook with. I was told yesterday that there is another room which is supposed to be a third beroom, but it doesn't really fit that description. She has it set up as a computer room, and she has a futon in there, so she does have an extra bed if she needs it. It has a nice front yard, with a courtyard just outside the front door. The back yard is fairly large, with a wrought iron fence all around, nice lawn and beautiful patio. The view out the back yard is very nice. There is a ravine right behind the house, and by looking off to the southwest, you can see over a very large area, and this will never be blocked by other buildings, by the way the land lays. This is southeast of Lincoln, in the foothills. It is nice to sit out on the patio in the evening and see the lights and watch planes land at a local airport. We saw a small bear in the ravine a few days ago. I didn't realize it was a bear at the time, but the more I think about it, the more I believe that is what it was. Last night I sat in my room, and I could hear an owl. First one I have heard in years. Last week we had SNOW. They tell me that doesn't happen very often. But, it was so neat to wake up to about 2 inches of snow on the ground. It fell during the night and was all gone by about ll am. But it was so pretty.
I think this is about enough for now - catch you later.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
I've Moved!!
Well, it has been over two weeks since I last posted on here. That was the day before I moved from the senior assisted living facility, and now it is about time I got started on catching up.
The move went very well, and I quickly got established in my new home. I'll tell you more about it in a minute. I had trouble getting my TV hooked up. Finally got that done about mid-week last week. I am used to Comcast and here in the house they already had Direct TV, so I was kinda stuck. We actually had to have a tech come out and get it started. Although there was a hookup in the room, there had never been active service to this room, but that is all OK now. Now I just have to get used to the different locations of my favorite channels. A little time and practice will take care of that.
The computer was another story. There was only one phone line into the house, so the family "tv guru" finally set me up with a wireless hookup thru her computer. I guess it is OK. At least I can send and receive emails again. I haven't tried to do any internet research yet. But there are aeveral new problms which have shown up. I hope we can get them straightened out. It has to be the result of something that happened in the change-over, because all these things were working OK before we made the new connection.
When I lived in Yuba City, transportation to church, or anything in the Lincoln area was quite a problam for me because I had only three people to ask for help. And I just hate having to ask someone for a ride. I was afraid that might continue after I moved down here, and it seems that is just exactly what is happenig. Most of the people at church know I still have a transportation problem, but they are still not checking with me to see if I need transportation. I'm hoping that situation will improve as people becone more familiar with my situation.
My room is very pleasant. It is just a little bigger that the room I had at the Manor in Yuba City, but I guess it is the way it is arranged, there seems to be more room. And, it is very cozy. I always am concerned about mixing my furniture with someone else's. But it is working out well. All her furnitute that I am still usuing is light aok. And all but one piece of mine is light oak (or at least it looks like it). The room realy kooks quite coordinated, and not really cluttered. The room is about 12 x 15 and you would not believe what all I have in it. The one end wass lost space where the entrance door folds back against the wall. Then there is a space that is room for a small knickknace stand. The rest of that wall is taken up with skiding glass doors on a nice large closet. Turning the corcer, there is a round table which is actually there just for oranamental purposes. Next to that is my computer armoire (Kathy got this for me when I moved here), there is a short three drawer chest upon which we have put the printer Steve and Judy loaned me. It holds the 4-way printer, and has three drawers. The next thing is my large bookshelves. My recliner (which is were I sleep) is in the corner, and behind it is a very nice plant. On the third wall, are two nice windows with lattice blinds on them. In front of those windows is a very nice desk. In the next corner is a straight chair (dark wood, but it has needlepoint cusion on it that Mom did, and there ain't no way I'm getting rid of that chair). Next is a piece that I'm not real sure what it was intended to be used for, but it works very well for storing my magazines and some other things in binders, and then the next thing is a five drawer chest, which gives me lots of drawer space. Nex to the chest is my "entertainment center". It consists of a cabinet on wheels which I believe was originally a TV table. It has two shelves in the lower space. One shelf holds my DVD playrer, my VCR player, the controll box for the TV, another snall unit that goes with the DVD player. Then at the end of this equipment, I have some binders of CD's.
The bottom shelf right nw has only a rather large figurine of Arty's, but only time will tell how long that will stay there. The TV sits on the top of the cabinet, and we put a levelling shelf on top ot the TV holds my 3-disk CD player, with the speakers on the chest of drawers. Of course you have to add a few knicknacks, flower arrangements, wall hangings, and you have a niily furnished room. I know. it sounds crowded/cluttered but it really isn't. Oh yes, I have a nice big artificial Boston Fern on top of the computer cabinet. I am really very comfortable.
My bathroom is just outside my room and has to be used by all visitors to the home. So when I want to take a shower I have to use Artie's bath. Neither of us can step into a tub to use a step0in shower, That seens to be the only proproblem so far, and we seem to be working around that. I think this is a good place to call this blog to a helt. I will tell you more next time about Artymae herself, the house and the environment. This coukd take at least a couple of posts to tell you all about where I am, but I think I will call it quits for now..Bye Bye
The move went very well, and I quickly got established in my new home. I'll tell you more about it in a minute. I had trouble getting my TV hooked up. Finally got that done about mid-week last week. I am used to Comcast and here in the house they already had Direct TV, so I was kinda stuck. We actually had to have a tech come out and get it started. Although there was a hookup in the room, there had never been active service to this room, but that is all OK now. Now I just have to get used to the different locations of my favorite channels. A little time and practice will take care of that.
The computer was another story. There was only one phone line into the house, so the family "tv guru" finally set me up with a wireless hookup thru her computer. I guess it is OK. At least I can send and receive emails again. I haven't tried to do any internet research yet. But there are aeveral new problms which have shown up. I hope we can get them straightened out. It has to be the result of something that happened in the change-over, because all these things were working OK before we made the new connection.
When I lived in Yuba City, transportation to church, or anything in the Lincoln area was quite a problam for me because I had only three people to ask for help. And I just hate having to ask someone for a ride. I was afraid that might continue after I moved down here, and it seems that is just exactly what is happenig. Most of the people at church know I still have a transportation problem, but they are still not checking with me to see if I need transportation. I'm hoping that situation will improve as people becone more familiar with my situation.
My room is very pleasant. It is just a little bigger that the room I had at the Manor in Yuba City, but I guess it is the way it is arranged, there seems to be more room. And, it is very cozy. I always am concerned about mixing my furniture with someone else's. But it is working out well. All her furnitute that I am still usuing is light aok. And all but one piece of mine is light oak (or at least it looks like it). The room realy kooks quite coordinated, and not really cluttered. The room is about 12 x 15 and you would not believe what all I have in it. The one end wass lost space where the entrance door folds back against the wall. Then there is a space that is room for a small knickknace stand. The rest of that wall is taken up with skiding glass doors on a nice large closet. Turning the corcer, there is a round table which is actually there just for oranamental purposes. Next to that is my computer armoire (Kathy got this for me when I moved here), there is a short three drawer chest upon which we have put the printer Steve and Judy loaned me. It holds the 4-way printer, and has three drawers. The next thing is my large bookshelves. My recliner (which is were I sleep) is in the corner, and behind it is a very nice plant. On the third wall, are two nice windows with lattice blinds on them. In front of those windows is a very nice desk. In the next corner is a straight chair (dark wood, but it has needlepoint cusion on it that Mom did, and there ain't no way I'm getting rid of that chair). Next is a piece that I'm not real sure what it was intended to be used for, but it works very well for storing my magazines and some other things in binders, and then the next thing is a five drawer chest, which gives me lots of drawer space. Nex to the chest is my "entertainment center". It consists of a cabinet on wheels which I believe was originally a TV table. It has two shelves in the lower space. One shelf holds my DVD playrer, my VCR player, the controll box for the TV, another snall unit that goes with the DVD player. Then at the end of this equipment, I have some binders of CD's.
The bottom shelf right nw has only a rather large figurine of Arty's, but only time will tell how long that will stay there. The TV sits on the top of the cabinet, and we put a levelling shelf on top ot the TV holds my 3-disk CD player, with the speakers on the chest of drawers. Of course you have to add a few knicknacks, flower arrangements, wall hangings, and you have a niily furnished room. I know. it sounds crowded/cluttered but it really isn't. Oh yes, I have a nice big artificial Boston Fern on top of the computer cabinet. I am really very comfortable.
My bathroom is just outside my room and has to be used by all visitors to the home. So when I want to take a shower I have to use Artie's bath. Neither of us can step into a tub to use a step0in shower, That seens to be the only proproblem so far, and we seem to be working around that. I think this is a good place to call this blog to a helt. I will tell you more next time about Artymae herself, the house and the environment. This coukd take at least a couple of posts to tell you all about where I am, but I think I will call it quits for now..Bye Bye
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