Long time between visits....

I was feeling pretty low last night for awhile after I "lost" something and no matter where I looked I couldn't find it. BUT, in case you are wondering, I found it this morning! Now to get to the blog! I heard someone say this morning on T.V., that some people take their problems and just "wallow" in them and others do great things in their lives despite their disabilities! It comes to mind how much our ancestors had to really live with everything in the book thrown at them and never complain but gave us, despite what it seems the world is turning into, a chance to do some of the great things that some people do. I was calling to mind a cousin, who was a little younger than I but she contracted Polio as a child and even though in those days we didn't see each other as much, or really as much as we can communicate with each other these days, she was crippled and in our teen years we moved closer to each other. I remember her telling me one day, "I'll never be able to dance or anything like other people do." I told her of a girl who was in school with me, a grade older than me who had had Polio and she danced and did all sorts of things. She was one of the most popular girls in our school! Well, to make a long story short, I guess my cousin took my advice because after High School she went on to college where she met and married a man who was interested in the same things she was. Janet, from the time she was a little girl loved animals and worked part of her high school days at a dog kennel. She told me that if someday she could do something like that she would be in seventh heaven!!! Her husband and she put up a kennels and started raising thoroghbreds and the University of Washington was hiring some of their dogs to find people lost in snow slides and avalanches, etc. Hank, her husband got Cancer and after he found out about it his life ended. (He passed away the same year as I lost my husband.) Did Janet give up? No! She and her two boys, married now, were running quite a successful business so she started to judge dog shows, and for several years was one of the highly acclaimed judges on the A.K.C. show that is on T.V. all the time. When she would come to the town where I was living, or near it, to judge a show, she came and visited me! She was so "able!!" Off and on planes, busses, etc. She didn't drive or couldn't with her problem. Finally she began to get offers to judge dog shows all over the world!!! She, at one time would tell me that she just got back from South America, or Paris, or London. She fell though about four or five years ago and broke or cracked the brace that she had in her leg and so it, because of her age put a stop to her working!!! What a gal! Another person comes to mind. One of my sons who has Diabetes and has had it for about 25 years or more!! Did that stop him? No, he worked until his eyesight got so bad he could do no more driving and started taking a train in the L.A. area and finally had to retire from that and is now pretty much "house-bound"! Does that stop him?No!!! He started to take the Sacraments to people in the local hospital where he lives and now has quite a crew doing it with him! He doesn't drive but those who can, pick him up and drive him! His Pastor has him training the crews, which, because of what it is, keep changing. (a new baby, a serious illness or some other valid reason can't do it anymore.) It keeps my son quite busy and the thing is, it gives him a "Life"! He has become involved with other Parishional things too. AND I HAVE TO ADD HERE, HE HAS A WIFE WHO REALLY HELPS , AND UNDERSTANDS!!!!!! I have another member of my family who was born with what was considered a "lazy" eye! After her Mother and Father, from age one, took her to Dr. after Dr. and after several operations, she herself decided that enough was enough!!! Did this stop her??? She was quite a student in Grammer school and in High School, with a scholarship and finally after 4 years in College, went on to Law school and passed her Bar and is now a Lawyer!!!! We all of us are so proud of your achievements, honey!!!! A friend of mine, a man who belonged to the same Bible class that I attended for several years,was a house painter and fell off a ladder and shattered an ankle! This man has been to several Doctors, and several operations even after I knew him! Does this stop him???? He is one of my heroes!!! He still does some painting and is walking very well and without a cane, and I just can't believe him! Such courage!!!! What a guy!

Some Memories...

Bob called me last night and wondered why I hadn't been working on my "blog"! So I told him that I had thought about it several times but I really haven't been feeling too good and also, I have been trying to put more time into my "prayer" life!!!! You atually start thinking more about the "necessary" things when you get older and wonder how much more you can "remember"! So I was thinking about some of the Holidays that we used to enjoy and how we celebrated them. Of course, in my family, when we were where we could get to Church and all that was usually the way we started them out! Thanksgiving was always a big deal "family-wise" because we usually lived around a lot of Aunts, Uncles, cousins, to say nothing of the 10 children Mother and Dad had!!! Seemed like some of the first Thanksgivings I remember, Mother got up in the middle of the night and stuffed the turkey and put it in the oven!!! The whole house smelled so good when we woke up!!!! And another thing I remember was that even though Mother got up so early, it seemed like the turkey took it's own sweet time cooking!!! We always had a huge turkey and with that, Mother made the best dressing! It was probably because she used home-made bread that she had allowed to dry out just for thaat purpose! The right amount of spices, onions, celery, butter, (to keep it moist!) and she always cooked up the giblets, (liver, heart, etc. and, if she could get away with it, the neck! The broth from those were added to the dressing and the giblets were cut up small and added too. We always had mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, creamed peas, candied yams, (Ooh yummy!) apple and walnut salad, and fresh biscuits. Then the pumkin pie that was made the day before! Now it seems like people have a variety of pies, Chocolate, lemon, etc. And Grandma, (my mother always made her own mincemeat and made pies with it!!!! As we got older and got married, we had our own dinners, depending on where we lived!!! If we were around family these became quite the way to have dinner! And it was the custom for this one to bake the turkey one year and the next year someone else did that and it was the same with the other things. The apple salad, for instance, (Waldorf Salad) would be furnished by one family and the yams by someone else! Then when Mom and Dad moved into Torrance, California, we decided that we could rent a hall and it was usually the Y.M.C.A. and we would cook everything at home where so many lived in the area and then bring the meat and stick it into the ovens there and cook the rest of the dinner there. We had big long tables and we would fix everything and then bring it to the tables and then the real fun would start!!!! The reason we liked this hall particulaly was that it had a nice big yard and the men and boys could play football and the little ones always had a good time together! After dinner, there was a fireplace in the hall and we would make a fire, and then someone would ask me or someone else to play the piano and we would stand around and sing and then we would turn on our record players, etc. and those who wished could dance. Cappy and I usually started it out and before long the younger ones were dancing along with the older members of the family. The dish situation was taken care of because there was a big, old dishwasher in the kitchen and so it could pound away without bothering anybody. We always left the hall clean and so we could usually get it the next year!!!! These dinners were really fun and even though we saw the rest of the family often, it was still great to get together all at one time!!!! It usually broke up about 5:00 or 5:30! after everybody had taken what they wanted have for leftovers that night!! When we moved from there and of course, by this time, my Cappy had passed away, we moved up here to the Central part of the State and I can't begin to tell you the number of times that I had dinner with my sister Barbara and her family!!!! I cooked a couple of times and since at that time I had a big apt. I invited those who wanted to come, to my house!!!!! I miss all that in my old age!!!!! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who read my blog!!!!

Autumn and the leaves...

Was just sitting here thinking that here it is Autumn and outside the temperature has reached a cool, or should I say a hot 100! I remember the "good old days" when Autumn meant that the leaves were starting to fall and the temperature had fallen and one almost always had to wear a light sweater. The flowers were the Goldenrods, and of course the Zinnias and Asters were pretty good Fall flowers! The leaves seemed to fall, and fall, and fall. One could rake them up and the next day there would be another pile to rake up. (Or was it because it was so much fun to run and jump into the pile of leaves, scattering them everywhere!) Today I looked into my small garden and the Roses were still blooming and the Crepe Myrtle trees are in full bloom! By this time they usually have lost all their blossoms!!! It has been kind of a crazy year all around. Was warm very early in the Spring and then turned very cold and seemed like Spring and Summer were here and gone. Oh, we had a few hot days but this was not the usual thing this year. This Spring and into Summer it seemed like the fresh tomatoes didn't come on the market as early and since we live in a grape growing area, it seemed to me that the grape harvest didn't start as early!!! There are still fresh peaches in the market and they, the store clerks, etc., say that the peaches are locally grown! And they do taste like it! Not picked "green" so to speak and then "warehoused" to ripen!!!! Before we know it, and we really will need it, the rains will start again and the cold weather will begin and so begins another cycle! I was talking to a Granddaughter day before yesterday and she was telling that she was looking for her wedding dress for her upcoming wedding in June of 2010!!!! I thought, so far away and yet looking at the way the past year has flown, "Wow" I had better start getting around a little better so I can attend! I said last February when I heard about a Grandson's August wedding, I will try and make it but I can't promise anything!!! I did attend the Wedding and now here is something else to look forward to!!!!! I would like to see another "little one" or two before all is said and done with me!!!! Not pushing, just dreaming!!!!!! First the weddings though!!!!

Another trip...

When, several years ago, I recieved a letter inviting me to my High School Reunion. The reason for the Reunion was that the School was being torn down and so everyone that could be reached and had gone to the Academy was sent an invitation. This included my sister Genevieve, my brother Bob and me. It was to be at the Immaculate Heart Academy and we really were anxious to be in on it! They sent the usual data as to Hotels, Motels, etc. It was to be a three day affair. But, I was going to talk about another trip! After the Reunion, (which in my notion was a complete sucess,) we, the three of us, Genevieve, Bob and I started home. Did I mention that the Reunion was in Couer d' Alene, Idaho?? We left for home anyway, after Mass on Sunday morning and went the same way back through Oregon and when we got to California, we decided to take the "scenic" route along the coast which meant going through the Redwoods. Since I had never, and Bob had never really taken time for them, we decided that this was the time. Genevieve's husband Phil was a forest ranger with the State of California a long time ago and so she had been there. She was a pretty good Guide. We took our time and really got a lot of beautiful pictures but by the time we started to leave it was getting on in the afternoon! We went on to Highway One which by this time, (since the previous trip up Hwy. 1) was a pretty good Highway. Still not all that wide or anything but we were traveling in the early evening and it was summer! Genevieve wanted to go past a couple of the State Parks where Phil had worked and where they had lived and so as the old saying goes "time flies when you are having fun!" It was getting later and we had planned to go to another brother and wife's home in Sebastopol and spend a couple of days with them. We kept looking for a small cafe and someplace to spend the night before going on. We got to Fort Bragg and found a restaurant, had dinner and asked where we might find a motel for the night. We came out of the restaurant and found that we had left the lights on in the car and hence had a dead battery!! We called AAA and they came after about 45 minutes and we went inside and asked the people who were running it if there was any place we might spend the night! They told us that the Democratic Convention was in San Francisco and the Forty-Niners Football team was in the Bay area for the last game of the season and hence there was no room at any Inn for miles around! Someone pointed out a small hotel at the bottom of the hill and said we might get a room there but it was up over a bar and all! We thought that that was all we needed so decided to head over to Highway 101 at Cloverdale and take out chances at finding something along that Route. Every little small village or bigger town was full and had "No vacancy" signs everywhere. and when we did stop and ask, just in case, we were told that it was doubtful if we would find anything at all down to San Francisco and beyond!!!! Well, we got to Santa Rosa and since that meant we could either go home or go to Sebastopol, which was closer. I was really tired by this time and we were all getting a little cranky and so I looked in my purse and didn't have any change to call David and Bob was saying, "What should we do?" I said, "Just give me a damn quarter and I will call David and see if they are home and if not we will go home!" I called and Jeanie, his wife answered and said, "You just caught us home! We have been gone all evening! But please do come over and stay a couple of days!" So they told us how to get there from where we were and we arrived to find that they had beds all set up and all and were more than happy to have us!!!! But did we go to bed? NO! We sat and visited for hours! But we were rested when we decided to get back to Lodi and the old routines again!!!!! We, my sisters, and Bob and I, have taken several trips and some were good and some were, let's say, very memorable! I will tell about a trip we took by train to Texas to go to another brother and wife's Golden Wedding! That was, as I wrote in a letter and sent to all my family, entitled The Trip to Hell!!!!! Oh the Golden Wedding was nice and being in Dallas was nice but the trip there was something else!!!!

Dumb trips!

I have really taken a lot of trips in my life! After Cappy died, I felt that I hadn't done too much traveling "just for the fun of it!" But one trip we took when he was alive keeps popping into my head and so I decided to write about that! We had traveled to San Francisco to see Cappy's folks and his sister Leona called and said, "Why don't you guys come on up here?" They lived in Bodega Bay at the time. So we took Cappy's parents and his daughter and son with us to visit there. We had to take another car because we couldn't all fit into ours. During the visit my Father-in-law said that someplace he had always wanted to see and really wanted to see was the California Redwoods. So Leona said, "Why don't we drive up there now"? Well, someone had sense enough to say that we had better take something to lunch on till we got there because this was about 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon. So, we started to get food together for a "picnic" sort of meal to eat on the way and that took about an h0ur or so and Mom Farnsworth thought we had better take some blankets with us because we had Florence, Lester Bert, Bobby A. (Leona and Al's boy, Bob's age) and our boy Bob Earl, and they might get cold, etc., etc., etc. And off we went. We were going to go up Highway one which at that time looked like an old country road but it followed the Pacific Ocean front. We hadn't gone very far when the fog settled in and we were creeping along to get to the Redwoods! The fog got thicker and thicker and it was getting later and later and finally we couldn't even see to drive!!! So we decided it was time to stop and have a bite to eat and see what kind of a situation we were in! We pulled off on the right hand side of the "road" and found ourselves on a big flat "rock"! The men started to gather driftwood to start a fire to keep us warm and while we were eating our "picnic"! It was really late and the fog was so bad behind us and in front of us, in fact, we didn't know where we were or why, at that moment. The little ones, the two Bobby's anyway were getting fussy, (hey, they were only about a year and a half old!) so I told my Mother-in-law that I was going to get in the seat of our car with our Bobby and I would use our coats to cover us and I was going to try and get some sleep! Mom decided that she and Leona, Bobby A. and Florence would get into another car and the men said they would keep the fire going till morning!!!! I must have been very tired because the next thing I knew it was dawn and the men were standing around the fire trying to decide what we were going to do! Someone was smart enough to suggest we try to see the Redwoods another time and so we got the fire put out with the sand that was all over at that place and we headed home! Now we could at least "see" where we had been, getting up there to that spot and how lucky we were not to have ended up "shark food"! We just took right off for San Francisco and left Leona and family in Bodega Bay!!! When we got back to San Francisco my brother-in-law Lafay called us and wanted to know how he could get in touch with Cappy and so Cappy took the phone to hear him tell us that he and another brother, Bert had a job for Cappy in Mexico if he wanted to take it! And that was why and when we went to Mexico to live for??? We didn't know at the time how long it would be!!! In later years I got my chance to see the Coast Redwoods and it would have "possibly" been worth the trip, fog and all!!!!!

Rain!!!!!!!

This morning I woke up to a feeling of dampness, and no, it wasn't what you think it was, it was rain! Despite yesterday being a pretty decent day, I guess in the night it clouded up and was raining pretty good! I stood for a second and just breathed in the good fresh air that a rain usually brings! Then when I went back to bed I felt pretty good! Of course just having the door open that much brought the fresh air into the house too!!! Seems like so many people these days have arthritis! And the sufferers seem to be getting younger! Could it be diet, or lack of exercise, or what? I know people who always seem to be eating the best healthy food and doing a lot of exercise, etc. and still they are complaining about having either back pain or leg cramps or some other pain someplace! Arms, hands, etc. In fact I came in here today to my computer because using this seems to limber up my poor hands! And yesterday and today I have been having pains in the joints of my fingers!!! My mother when she lived with me complained about pains in her toes, (I get those too!) and in her elbows and then in her shoulders. Not so much "charley horses"! And my legs are usually what bother me. My sister Genevieve, when she was alive had terrible pain in her hands as did my sister Teresa! Teresa was so crippled up with this stuff! My boys, from Les on down to Steve are complaining about "back trouble"! There is medicines out there for it but the only thing that works for me is Tylenol. I am allergic to so many of the other medications. Steve was telling me that he has been literally downing Ibuprofin this past week because of the pain. And yes we are all weather forecasters with it! A drop in atmospheric pressure and the pain begins!!! And the funny part is they, the pains begin about a week ahead of a good storm! Wind, rain, or whatever!!!! Enough about this and my complaining! My fingers have loosened up and I've run out of gripe material! Enjoy the "good weather" wherever you are , guys and gals! Winter will be here before you know it!

Alex's Party

The week I went down to Simi Valley, Wendy called and told me that she had set up a party for Alex who was going into the Army on Sept. 1st. It was to be a sort of "going away" party and the guests were just Bill and Wendy's family and Bob and Marilyn and myself! I was happy about this because Alex is my Godchild and I didn't want him going "off to war", so to speak, without being able to have my own little time with him. Wendy fixed it so that we, Bob, Marilyn and I arrived early and so I got a chance to tell him how much I would miss him and to tell him that I was sure that he would make it O.K. He has joined the Rangers which is a great branch but one of the rougher parts of the Army. I didn't know that he had signed up for eight years till later! It was a great party and Afton wanted to do the planning of it and arrange all the food, etc. (he is attending College to become a Chef or something related to cooking!) Wendy had made a cake decorated with little flags and as you can see she fixed the centerpiece for the table with the American flag and appropriate branch of service flag. The meal, a lunch, consisted of salads, (pasta, potato, fruit and vegetable), and pulled pork sandwiches and also other lunch meats and cheeses, chips, and all the usual drinks, (iced tea, coke, lemonade, coffee, etc.) and we ended up with the cake with ice cream! It still didn't make me feel any less anxious for Alex but Wendy told me that she and Alex would come over in a day or two and just visit me. And Alex, when he signed in had asked to be allowed to attend his brother Aaron's wedding and so the recruiter just told him that they would sign him in on the 1st of Sept. !!! We have heard from him a couple of times and he said in his first letter to his family that the thing that was the hardest on him was being away from the family! Which was part of my talk with him! He was put into his first platoon the first part of last week and so now the fun begins! He will, he was told be able to come home after basic training which will be in time for Christmas!!!!

Here I am!!!!

Got to looking at my blog and realized that I hadn't been writing about anything for such a long time! Hey guys! I'm getting old!
Well, since I last wrote I traveled South to the wedding for Grandchild # 7 on the 15th of August! It was a really hot day and the wedding was an outdoor event! There was about 100 guests, my granddaughter said! She was the hostess for the wedding and the reception since it was in her really lovely back yard!

The wedding was at 5:30 in the evening and so the good old sun was really blazing!!! The reception area they had covered with a big tent so that was nice. They had tables set up for 8 people each and of course the yard and tent, etc. was decorated to a fare-thee-well!!!!

Mindy's (the bride) colors were a pale green, sort of an avocado, and off-white. They had built a bridge over the pool and the groom and groomsmen stood on the far side of the pool. Mindy and her attendants walked through the yard and across the bridge, highly decorated with tulle and flowers, to where Aaron was standing.

After the ceremony, the wedding party came out of the back door of the house and walked to the reception area. There was the Bride and Groom, all of the attendants and both sets of parents. The music was supplied by a deejay. The reception was catered and was very nice but it was getting late and we had to leave before they cut the cake.

After dinner, they had the usual dancing of the couple and the parents then tossing of the bride's bouquet, the bride's garter, etc. It was getting late. My feet were swelling and Bob was getting very tired so we made out excuses and left for home. We didn't get to see the cake and certainly didn't want any after the dinner that we had!!!

It was lovely Aaron, and I want to wish you and Mindy a good long married life!!! Love you both!!!!

Some "old time" things....

Was laying in bed the other night and thinking about the upcoming wedding on Saturday and then other things started to come into my mind.

When we first came to California and were to stay in the tent-house that I referred to earlier in a blog, we were tired and it was getting late at night and we hear all this banging around and yelling, etc. Of course we got up to see what was going on and my Mother and Father told us that the neighbor where all the noise was coming from was getting a "chivaree"!

Then they went on to explain that it was the custom in the olden days for all the neighbors to gather at the home of the newlyweds (I hope, after their honeymoon!) and banged on kettles or anything that made a lot of noise and shouted and yelled their congratulations to the bride and groom and then were invited in to have coffe, tea or whatever! It was supposed to be a surprise to the couple and sometimes they weren't really prepared for such a doing! But it was all taken in good fun, at least this night I am talking about!!!

In fact that was the night we met most of our new neighbors! Dad had been there for a month or so working and getting ready for us, his family to leave Idaho and move to California.

When my sister Teresa and her husband Hank got married, they were given my sister Genevieve and husband Phil's home up at Big Trees State Park for a honeymoon spot! Genevieve and Phil came to the wedding on their way to a vacation, and since Hank was still in the Navy, Teresa and he did not have too much money!!! A few of us "meanies"- I guess that was what you would call us!- Anyway, we decided that we would go up to the Big Trees and knock on their door!

We made our plans (in secret, of course) and off we went after we decided that the newly-weds had time to get there and get unpacked or whatever??? We drove into the park and turned off our lights so they wouldn't see the car coming and then we parked being very careful and quiet!

We got right to the door and Hank opened the door and said, "Come on in! We've been expecting you!" So there went our big "chivaree" surprise!!!! So they had coffe made and some cookies and after about a half hour we decided to leave them and go home!!! Course we only got as far as the Arnold Inn where I one time worked and since my brother, and wife, Julie had lived in White Pines also and the same people owned it that I worked for and, oh yes, incidently that was the restaurant where I first met Cappy, we went in and had quite an evening of it dancing, visiting, etc.

So much for chivarees! Today if anyone did that at 10:00 or 11:00 P.M., the police would be out for sure!!! And I would probably be the spoilsport that called them! Oh for the "good old days"!

Memories and memories!!!!!

Thanks Steve for reminding me on your blog about Cappy's death! I was so involved with "self" that I didn't even remember!!!! Planning on this trip to L.A. and in such a short time really takes a lot of thought. I wasn't sure that I was going to go until the last minute but finally decided that I just had to get away from here for awhile and give everybody a rest!!!! (Including myself!) How could I forget such an important day in my life? Cappy had been ill for some time and had taken coumadin? for years and was doing pretty good, we thought. But he just couldn't leave the Camel cigarettes alone and since he had pretty well, forcibly, retired, could think of nothing to do but just sit and smoke one cigarette after another. Yes, chain smoking!!! We had taken a short trip to the San Joaquin Valley, because we had thought that we would move here after about a year, which would allow Steve to Graduate from High School and Tom from Jr. High. So we had already made a trip or two up here and then Steve and Tom went up to Wa. state to work? for Dick or probably just to have a vacation. So we, Cap and I, thought we would take a trip up this way and see what could be found in the way of housing, etc. He wasn't feeling too well but we thought maybe because of the worry about being "laid off" etc., we had plenty of time to look around, and like I said, the boys, Steve and Tom were gone too. So we decided to take the trip up through Yosemite for a drive to Jackson, or Sutter Creek, or someplace up in the foothills around here. We did stop for a few sights, etc., had lunch, etc. and then headed up towards the foothills. We got in touch with a lady who was a realtor and asked her about properties to rent, etc. and with a promise to look for something for us, we headed to Lodi and to Barbara's. We spent the night here after talking to the lady in Jackson, and then Florence Rose, my step-daughter called from Concord and said that Cappy's brother and wife were visiting and that they would take another day or two if we could come down to Concord and see them. They lived in Nogales, Arizona. So when we tried to get out car started, for some reason that evening, there was something wrong with it and so Babe, Barbara's husband and their son Mark started working on the car, They got it running but while they were working on it, Cappy came in and said he sure didn't feel good so Barbara made him lay down on the couch while she got dinner. He seemed to get better, and so after visiting with them for awhile we all went to bed and then the next morning Cappy and I headed down to Concord. Lafay, and his wife were in the San Jose area visiting by this time with their sister Leona, and we were all going down there for dinner. We had a very pleasant evening and Florence and family left for home and the rest of us to bed! Cappy and I were leaving for home the next morning because Bob and Marilyn were expecting their third child at any minute and I had promised to take care of the other two little one's for about a week! Lafay and wife were leaving in the morning too, and Leona had to work. Cappy was sitting out in Leona's garage and told her he sure didn't feel good and didn't want any breakfast and that we would eat on our way. Leona told him to come into the den and sit in her lounge chair which had a vibrator because she said when Grandma Farnsworth was having heart attacks, she could rest fine there. Well, Toni, (Leona) left us her phone number and her Dr.'s and Lafay and wife left for the Airport to go home to Arizona. The phone rang and it was Bob telling me that Marilyn had had another boy, "Mark" and when were we coming home? The phone woke Cappy up and so he said, "let's go!" I asked him if he felt O.K. and he said yes and that if he started to feel bad we would pull off the road and call Bob to come up after us! So I agreed and off we went. We stopped about San Luis Obispo and I had lunch and Cappy still wasn't hungry but said he would have a bowl of soup. We made it home O.K. and he started to feel better. We called Bob and told him to bring the kids over on his way to work because we were going to just stay home and let Cappy "rest"! The next day we went over to Simi Valley with the kids and took care of them for a day or two. Cappy told me on Friday that he thought he wanted to go home and so Bob said he was picking Marilyn up at the hospital and could we stay till they got home. We agreed and after Marilyn went to the store to get the things that she needed we went home. and needless to say, had a bite to eat and then to bed! The next morning Cappy took me to Mass and then came home and said he had to mow the lawn. He came after me and he was having a time with the lawnmower and said that he was going to lie down. We borrowed a mower from the lady across the street and I told Cappy to start it for me and I would mow the rest of the lawn, which I did. He was asleep when I finished and so I decided I had better clean the house a little because we had planned on going back up to Jackson on Tuesday to see about a place this lady had called about! When I finished, I laid down on the couch and I went to sleep. The phone rang and woke me up. It was Aunt Jennie and Cappy asked her if they, she and husband Phil would like to come over and eat with us. She told him that they had just eaten and so after hanging up Cappy told me that dinner was ready. I got up and we had dinner and I did the dishes. We watched some T.V. and then he said he was going to bed. I told him I would be in soon, there was something I wanted to watch. He went to bed but started coughing and when I had finished watching the show, I went to bed and he coughed and coughed! I told him that I was going to go into the kids room so I could get some rest. He got up to go to the bathroom and then called me from there and asked if I could got him to the Hospital!!! I didn't drive and I was so dumb that I never thought about calling the fire dept. which was just around the corner! I called the gal across the street and asked her if she could take us to the Hospital and she was there in seconds!!! We got him to the Hospital, (Emergency) and then started the worst 20 or 30 minutes of my life! The people there came in and gave him a shot of something and he kind of calmed down, then, he started in again with trying to breathe, He was kind of halfway sitting up because he couldn't lay down flat and so I went over and put my arms around him and he started to cough and cough and I was trying to help him and trying to calm him down. I finally just went to the door and yelled, "he's choking!" The emergency workers came in with oxygen and took me out of the room and told me to wait in the waiting room!!!! My friend was trying to call my kids and Jennie, etc, and was having one heck of a time letting them know what was happening! I took the phone and Bill was on the line and I told him that I thought that his Father was dying and he was crying and said that they had called Bill's wife's folks and about that time Bob Doyle, the father-in-law came into the hospital!!!! By this time I had asked him to find out what was going on and he said he had called the Priest, and I asked the nurse at the desk, "what is happening?" and she says, "Oh honey, he's gone!!!" Bob Doyle grabbed me and took me into another waiting room and from there on, my life, as I had known it was gone!!!!! Thank you Steve, for remembering!!!!! More happier memories on another day!!!!

Dance and the like!!!

Over the weekend I had company from Utah and mentioned that Cappy had taught dancing to the Morman Youth Group at one time. It is called something else now but at that time the group was called "Mutual".

Of course dancing, as I knew it and still know it, was entirely different than it is now!!!! We danced the Waltz, (my favorite, the "Hesitation Waltz"!) Fox Trot , Two step, etc., etc., etc. Your partner took you in his arms and danced with you to the rhythm of the music.
These days, it seems that everyone is out there, shaking his/her you know what, and you really don't know who came with who, etc. The music, to my ears, is not really music, but a lot of loud banging on the drums, etc. which is probably just as well because some of the words that I occasionally hear, I wish I hadn't! The Jitterbug, the Twist, and some of the other "dances?" came a little later.
But I did Jitterbug when that became popular and even before that tried to do the "Lindy Hop"! I didn't get along with that one very well. Seemed like you were dancing with some guy and then he sort of whirled you about and you were dancing with another partner!!!! I never learned to do the Charleston, that was a little before my time!!!!! I liked the "intimacy" of dancing to the music in the arms of my boy friend!!!! You didn't hold each other too close but there was this "almost" oneness.

Cappy was a very good dancer and taught me what I knew as a dancer! And he picked up on the Jitterbug as well! The music would start and we were on the floor dancing!! I loved it!!!!

As old as I am, and that is 90, if I hear an old "tune", I dance around as much as I can in my small house!!!! I have to watch myself that I don't fall down now! The kids used to ask us to dance when they were small! And as they grew up some of them, the more agile ones, would ask me to dance at a wedding, or some kind of party! (Probably out of kindness!) But this always made me feel "special"! Wish I could hear some of the good music now. Think I'll go put a tape on that has "my" kind of music!!!!!

Small world....

This afternoon I got a phone call from my neice Amy, up in Washington State and she told me a very strange story. She said she had been to a place like the Moose Lodge up there, and there was a guy there who mentioned something about being from the Pullman area, etc. Amy told him that her Dad was born in Wawawai, down on the Snake River and this guy told her there was never a place like that on the Snake River. And she told him that, yes, there was, because her Dad and a couple of her aunts were born in Wawawai!!! Pretty soon this guy comes in with an older looking guy and so Amy told the older guy what the younger one had said and he said, "there sure was! I picked peaches there and in fact, I went to school there in a little old schoolhouse!" So Amy ran home and got a book that a cousin of mine, who was also born in Wawawai, had written about Wawawai after they put in the Lower Granite Dam on the river! This guy was thumbing through the book and says, "There's the old schoolhouse" and he was looking through the book and told her that that was where he had picked fruit years ago!!! Amy got his name on a piece of paper and his E-Mail address which was theoldfart@Yahoo. She told him that I was on line too and that she had just been to a birthday party for me in February, etc., etc.... So she asked if it was all right to give him my E-Mail address and I told her it was okay. So she said that if I get mail from this guy not to throw it out or delete it. I might really know him! His name was Claude (something or other) and she is going to send me the name and address that she wrote down on a piece of paper! I don't remember any Claude, but she said he seemed to have recognized my cousin Cecil in the picture in the book. His father, this guy's could have worked for the Comapny Ranch at the time he lived there. I think it was owned by somebody called "White". The White fruit company was what kind of rings a bell in my "memory bank"! We didn't know all the people who worked there but a couple of the families married into our families! My cousin Loretta, for instance married a guy named Bill Bacon and his brother and family worked for the company ranch!! Who knows? It would be kind of interesting to know if he really knows anybody like he told her he did! She doesn't know, at her age. any of them and she doesn't know if he Dad, (Uncle Bob), would remember either anymore. She just thought it was really odd that this guy seemed to know about Wawawai!!!! I'll keep you all posted as to what I find out if anything!!

Holidays and such!

Well another 4th of July has "come and went", as the story goes. I am not too excited anymore about the "ooh" "aah" of a few fireworks! I find that I am much happier just sitting in my little home and listening to some programs with a "Patriotic?" theme than to sit for simply hours waiting for what I consider just nothing but a big waste of tax-payers money!!!! When I was younger and there were fireworks out over Coeur d' Alene Lake, it was really beautiful!!! Everyone at that time of "my" life seemed more patriotic and more down to earth! Coeur d'Alene, Idaho was a beautiful "little" town with a town park right at the edge of the water. Most of the residents walked to the Park and there wasn't people crawling all over you to find a spot to sit!!!! We usually had relatives come from the farm down in Wawawai, Washington and so our celebration started at home with the preparation of a big picnic lunch and lots of watermelon getting ice cold in a big tub of ice to finish off the picnic! We usually made it to the park at around 10:30 or 11:00 in morning and if you found a table that was to your advantage but if not, we just spread a big blanket on the grass and had our picnic there. The only thing that always did bother me were the firecrackers because the kids weren't too cautious and you could be walking around and a firecracker would go off under your feet! Of course, you screamed and yelled and usually, "Junior" got his hind end tanned right there in front of you!!!! But during the afternoon there was the local "band" that played in the little bandstand in the middle of the park, and of course, the swimming!!!! The Lake was great for that, and nobody was bothering anyone with any boats or anything! They had police that really policed the Lake and so no one even tried to get very far to shore in a boat! There was a great beach front and shallow so that anyone, kid or grown-up was able, knowing how to swim or not, to keep pretty cool in the water!!!! At dusk, the loud-speaker came on and everyone was told to get out of the water and get ready for the fireworks!!! All the show was from a big boat out on the lake and it was simply beautiful!!!! The noise from them going off, sort of got drowned out because of the water I guess!!! They usually started at 9:00 P.M. and at 10:00 P.M. everyone picked up kids, blankets and cleaned up any mess they had made on the shore and headed home! We could get to the Lake in about 20 min. from where we lived. And since so many people had walked down to the Lake and back, there wasn't such traffic jams, like there is today!!!! Night before last, on the 4th, there was a man and his son and me who had stayed home all day! So when I heard the first big "Boom" I thought, "well, I'll give it a try!" There was a couple of skyrockets that went off but barely came over the trees where we three were looking! A cold wind came up and I was sitting there for barely a few minutes and then thought "this is nuts!" so I went back in the house and finished watching the fireworks going off at the Capital in Washington, D.C. !!!!! Old age, I guess!!! Hope you all had a happy 4th of July!!! I fixed myself a sandwich and ate it and had no dessert because the sandwich filled me up and then decided that I would go to bed!!!

Things in general...

Steve sent a blog today about today's readings at Church. It was about Lot and his wife and how God told them they could leave Sodom and He would give them a chance to rebuild a new life elsewhere. But no, Lot's wife had to look back! I was thinking too about this blog and how I am "looking back" so to speak in order to leave a sort of legacy for my Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren! And in a way I think this kind of looking back is good, because it gives them, my "younguns" a chance to see where we or I, in my old age, made a lot of mistakes, and also we, as a country, made a lot of mistakes!!!! I guess if one looks at it in this way, life is a "merry-go-round"! It is what we do about the mistakes that makes the difference. If we can help it, (and sometimes we can't do anything about the mistakes we make) but trying to do better, I guess is what I am trying to say, makes us better people. It's the one's who shrug it all off with an attitude, a "the world owes me a living attitude" that bother me! There are those who don't vote and haven't ever voted, and I do know a few people that don't, but groan and moan about everything! I think that we have to have an opinion and I think we have a right to express it!! Whether things go "our" way or not!!! The world, to me, is in a big spin and I would like to slow it down some but that's not the way things work! In a way I wish I could go back about seventy years and think things out more! I wouldn't have given up Cappy or my kids, but maybe I could have made life a bit easier for them!!! I don't know!!! What you get is what you get! Sorry about that! I love you all anyway and wish I could have made you all millionaires or something but that's not all there is to life either! "Get off here Mom, Grandma, Great-grandma, Aunt, Cousin, etc. Go eat something and then go sit down and relax! You are good at that!"

Bug and other things...

I was thinking this morning about how to get rid of some of the bugs which are eating some of my plants and then I got to thinking about how that might make a good blog! Last night I went in to my bedroom to turn down the bed, (is that phrase too old fashioned for you guys?) and when I came out of the bedroom I saw what looked like a piece of black fuzz or lint. I took my cane, (thank goodness!) and tried to push it around to make sure it was fuzz or lint and the thing started to move. It wasn't moving very fast so I went back into my bedroom and picked up a "Kleenex" and came back and picked it up, with that, a big old spider!!! Ugh! I think it came in under my screen door or in the door while I was letting Rose outside to go home! I shut the door right away and since I had my fan on and the window open was plenty cool enough so I didn't have to keep the door open! I, after picking up the spider and giving him the ride of his life in the toilet, sat down in my lounge chair. I started some of my prayers and reached over to pick up a booklet and here was some kind of "bug" sitting on the booklet! I thought, where are they coming from? Needless to say I felt creepy and crawly for quite awhile, even after I got in bed!! Mark, one of my nephews said at my party to give him a call and he would come over and spray my plants or whatever. I haven't called him yet about it but I seriously think I will this weekend!

Then I got to thinking about gophers, those stinking little things that make piles of dirt all over the lawn and anyplace else they can and are so hard to get rid of!!! There is one in our yard here and there is a neighborhood cat that sits right by the mounds of dirt hoping I think for a good meal! When we lived in Fresno, I had so many gophers in my yard! They would pull my tomato plants or any other thing right down into their "nests"! I thought one day, I'll get you so I got the hose and I started finding out where the holes were and started filling them up with water. Not smart, I was standing there putting water into one hole after another and looked down and here between my feet was a really wet gopher!!!! I screamed and dropped the hose, the neighbors came running over and I will bet to this day they are talking about that!!! When Cappy came home from work I told him and he went to the store and got a few "gopher bombs" put them down into the holes and covered them up and well, for awhile we didn't have any more gophers there!!!! My Father, when I was little used to take stryknine (I know that isn't spelled right!) and he would dig around the mounds and find out where the hole was that the gopher had come out of and take a long, really long-handled big spoon and quickly take the lid off the can of poison and dump a spoonful into each hole. He had to cover the can each time he took a spoonful out of it because it was not only deadly poison to smell but also to ingest!!! How I know that is because one time when I was very small, those terrible winds we had in Wawawai had blown down the sack where my father had put the poison in the garage rafters and I took the spoon and I guess tried to lick the spoon. I came into the house gagging and my mother wanted to know what I had done, (she was nursing a baby at the time) and anyway, I took her out to the garage and showed her the "spoon"! She called the Dr. who was 20 miles away and he told her to give me some warm lard to get me to vomit. She put some lard in a spoon and put it on the stove. Yup, you guessed it, I did throw up but I had a blister on my tongue for days!! The Dr did get there on time or I wouldn't be doing this "blogging"!!! Bye.

Footware??????

Someone sent me an E-Mail the other day with some of the most ridiculous shoes on it that I have ever seen and the article said that these were really shoes and women were buying and wearing them!!!! Ouch!!!!! They were the most outlandish "heels"! I was one that even as a child I liked to go barefoot, mainly in the summer because where I lived up in the states of Washington and Idaho, it was too cold to go without shoes in the winter!!! I had as a child, "Mary Janes" which were patent leather shoes that really had a good shine on them! In later years, some folks were saying that you could see the girls panties in them. Well let me tell you, in my day they wouldn't have been able to see much!!!! We wore bloomers and sometimes they were black. BUT... they covered your whole behind and then some they had elastic around the waist and also around the legs which hung down to your knees!!!! When I became a teenager, I started wearing silk stockings, (not nylons, they came later!) but before that our stockings were cotton and came up over the knees and we wore garters to hold them up!! Garter belts, I guess they were. And then the shoes, which were usually good sturdy oxfords and you got one pair if you were lucky, a year!! After I started wearing the silk stocking the style changed for them and we started to roll them down below the knees and then were rolled over elastic bands called "garters!" That was quite the fad, the rolled hosiery!! Then after I got out of High school and started to buy my own shoes or, at least was able to tell my parents what I wanted in the way of shoes and stockings, I bought "heels". They were not as high as the ones that I have seen advertised in some of the recent catalogs, but they were miserable too but what the heck!!! That's what everybody was wearing!!! The highest, I think, that I ever wore were about three inches high! Do I have to tell you as soon as I got home from a date or wherever, my shoes come off and I felt soooo good!!!! Shoes also started either being square toes, round toes or pointed toes!!! These pointed toes were terrible. One's feet were crammed into a space meant for about three toes and since you were in "heels" they really were "crammed" into a tiny space!!! But as I said before, style is style and you HAD to be in "style" When I look at my poor feet today and have to wear "flats" and I do mean "flats" I really thank my lucky stars that I can't be "stylish" anymore!!! I have a bone on the top of my feet and high arches and so when I wear anything that has to press down on that bone, Wow, more misery!!! Now for a little secret! (I still take my shoes off as soon as I get in the house and either "slop" around in a pair of sloppy slippers, or, you guessed it! I walk around barefoot!!!! Second childhood, but, oh how good it feels to let my feet free!!!!!!!!

Guardian Angels...

I don't know where I got the idea of calling my Guardian Angel "George"! It just sort of came to me one day years ago and I was very exasperated about something and out of my mouth came this," Okay, George, why aren't you helping me????" And whatever it was that I was exasperated about eased up and so from then on, I have called my Guardian "George"! I thought I was rather weird until one day about ten or twelve years ago, a bunch of us got to talking during Bible class and this one "Old" lady, (for those of you who knew her, she was Louise St. Marie!) said that she had named her Guardian Angel "Agnes" quite a number of years ago! I perked up and asked a few other people and I guess I'm not the only weird one in the world!!! Seemed that everybody in the room had a favorite "name" for their "special" angel!!! I don't know how many times "George" has helped me get through a day, find a convenient parking spot, gave me a bit of humor when I needed it and a shoulder to cry on when I get "EXASPERATED"!!!!! I told my sister Barbara about it and she promptly named hers!!! I have asked "him" to calm me down to get a night's sleep when I begin to think that I was never going to get to sleep!! Father Matt O'Connell when he was having our Bible class asked us one day, "how many people in here have given special names to their Guardian Angels?" I asked him what about himself and he told us that he had named his Guardian when he was still a boy! So Steve, you're not off your "rocker" so to speak and I'm sure that "George", "Laurence", "Agnes" and whoever, are pleased that we think about them once in awhile in a personal way even if it is in desperation!!! Try it and I'm sure your "special" angel will show you just how special "it" is. Since it is a creature, again, so to speak, of God!!!

Yesterday!!!!

Whew what a day! I woke up fairly early for me and got up at 8:00 and made my bed, straightened up the house a little and as usual, before all that, I said my Morning Prayers, which consist of the Liturgy of the Hours, Morning Offering ( to give my whole day to God, every thought, word, and action!) Anyway, I fixed my breakfast and brought in my morning paper, (piece of junk!) And then waited for Steve's call to come over and take me for groceries and to Mass last night which we had prearranged on Friday night! Steve came earlier than I expected but I was in the process of having my shower and cleaning up for my grocery jaunt! We went first to Staples to get some new ink for my printer and Steve said he was hungry and so we went to Coco's and had lunch!!! It was already that time. After lunch we went to the store for my groceries! Good thing! If I had to wait another day or so I would have really been out of things!!! I got so tired pushing the cart, (mainly for balance, I had left my cane in the car!) I was getting out of breath! We got home at about 2:50 P.M. and I told Steve, "I am going to let you just put anything that will melt or spoil in the fridge or freezer and I am going to sit down and get my feet up or I'll never make it to Church tonight!!! " I'm going to have to learn, if I get groceries, that is what I will do that one day and all the rest on other days. We got good news last night about our "new" pastor. The Bishop had made Fr. Brandon the Administrator of the Parish and that means he will be, as I think, his training period to becoming our Pastor!! He is really a fine young man and someone that was really needed here for a long time. Since Fr. Hayes passed away, he has been "acting Pastor" until now!!! He really got a standing ovation!!!! I had to laugh because as he was leaving the Altar I saw him wink at someone and give them a grin, and it dawned on me that it was Steve! Steve told me when I got in the car that he had given Fr. a "thumbs up!" and that is when he looked over our way with that special little look that he does for, what I think is , when he wants to acknowledge them! Steve said that every now and then if he is in the area he goes to Mass at St. Anne's and if Fr. Brandon happens to be the one saying the Mass that night or morning, they have some good "talks?" When he came here the first time to hear my Confession, he looked at the family picture of Steve and Marilyn and he told me "Hey, I know that guy! He comes to Church here a lot!" So I told him that was my son, and that he was working for a couple of weeks at the U-Hall across the street from here, (or practically across the street!) So a few times when Steve and I have been to Church together, he stands and talks to us afterwards!!! He's the Priest, for any of you that came to my Birthday Bash and attended the Mass at 10:30, who had me stand up and he came down and gave me a "special" Blessing!

Now to get back to "My Day" (thanks to Eleanor Roosevelt for the title!) I was really so tired when I got home from Church, I wanted to have my supper but there was a call on my message machine from Bob, ( in fact, two of them!) so I called him and then fixed my supper, which consisted of 1/2 of the Burger I had brought home with me from Coco's and a couple of cookies that I bought at the store! I still had all my evening prayers to say, etc. and I was so beat at about 11:30 P.M. I could hardly breathe, so I decided to give up and go to bed! My arms and shoulders were hurting from pushing the grocery cart. It was so heavy but still I needed the cart for my balance!! I don't think I even watched any T.V. I turned it on in my bedroom but didn't even turn up the sound!!! I had taken my Rosary to bed with me and I said most of it I think, because when I woke up this morning, I still had it in my hand and only had one decade to go!!!!! Thanks Steve for a nice day with you but let's next time try and figure out something else! I may have to get hold of Sue, Barbara's daughter and find out which day she is off during the week to pick up my groceries! She has offered me several times but I like to go and pick up a few things myself! ( That's the wrong thing to do because I really spend more when I do my own shopping!) She has a different day off every week now and never knows until she goes to work on Monday morning!!! Ho-Hum!!!! Think I'll go and sit down again with my feet up!!!

Forgiveness....

All is forgiven even if that old "devil" tried to make me feel otherwise!!!! And I was going to write you and tell you how things in a "child's" eye are different than they are in an adults eye. I had a great day yesterday. To start out with, my friend, Anne, came over at 7:00 and took me to get the blood test that I have been putting off too long. Not really, my Dr. appt. is week after next. Anyway, we left the Lab and we had already decided that if we got out of there early enough we would stop by for Mass. So, even if we were a bit late, (Fr. Joe was giving the homily and must have just started because it was pretty long.) So we were technically "on time"! That being the case and after visiting with a couple of old friends (outside the Church) Anne asked me if I was hungry and I told her yes "but let me take you to breakfast!"She would hear none of that and we went to that place on Lodi Ave. and School St. The name escapes me but the waitress told us that it had been "bought out" by another outfit and the name was changing! We had a great talk about Anne's recent retreat to Peru and how beautiful it is down there! She brought me home and then I had a visit from my friend Thelma! I had seen her at Mass and she said she just wanted to drop in on both Rose and I and say hello! They stayed about a half hour which meant it was time for my "noon" prayers. I was very tired last night because I got out of bed at 5:30 A.M. so I would have time to pray, and clean up to get ready to go with Anne. Somewhere along the line yesterday I had read or seen some thing about a picture of the Blessed Virgin called "Our Lady of the Book". Later on yesterday afternoon after "blogging", etc. I went to my bookcase and saw a picture, framed that must have been among some of my brother Bob's things when we helped him move from Lodi. Lo and behold, when looking at it, I remembered that it was "Our Lady of the Book"!!! It is really a lovely picture and why I hadn't paid that much attention to it before I'll never know!! In it Our Lady is holding the child Jesus and there is what looks like a Bible on a table, open, as though she was reading it, and the Child Jesus, like any "little one" would do, has his hand on the book, but he is looking at her and on His wrist is a small bracelet like a "crown of thorns"!!! It's kind of spooky in a way that I had never really looked at it before and in fact I was looking for something else on the bookshelf! You, Steve, will have to see it. Remind me when you get home. I also found on my bookshelf two copies, hardbound, of a small book written by Robert Moynihan. The title of the book is The Spiritual Vision of Benedict XVI, "Let God's Light Shine Forth". I have no idea where they came from but you can have one of them!!! Maybe they were among some of Barbara's things that the girls brought over after her death!!!! So I do have the picture in my living room and like I said, It's been quite a couple of days!!!

Excuse me!!!!!!!

It was my story and I am going to stick with it!!!! But as long as you kids had fun!!! I didn't remember too much about you doing too much or Bill!!!! And You might have had fish for breakfast but I didn't!!!! I'm an old bacon and eggs gal!!!! You really ruined my whole story, boo, hoo!!! Oh well, I've got another to tell you about when we went to Shaver Lake one time with Flo and Bob and the little ones they had then and Bob and Marilyn and I guess probably Tim and Brian and Mark because I definitely remember Angela's being there!!!! She talks about it yet! Bob had a rowboat that was either his or one that he borrowed for the weekend, and we had all got together and rented this BIG sort of resort house that had a loft and several bedrooms, etc. It must have been after your Dad died because I don't remember him being there at all. Bob had life-jackets for everybody or I think you could rent them! Anyway, he decided to take me and a bunch of the kids, probably the four I mentioned with him out on the Lake. We were having a great old time when some freak, (like in Tom's case!) in a speed boat kept going around and around us and trying to tip us over! He finally made it but not before all the kids grabbed Bob and me and held on for dear life!! We were all in the lake and the boat had not sunk but was trying to. Another boat came along, a cruiser, someone actually just trying to enjoy themselves out on the water. They picked us all up and took us and the boat back to shore!!! I don't remember what happened, about the speedboat, I was just too thankful to be back on shore. But Angela tells me to this day about the time Uncle Bob tried to drown her!!!! We did have a good weekend but nobody tried to go boating again. We probably lost the oars!!! I do also remember the people in the boat that picked us up saying that they had been watching that bunch of "punks" in the speedboat! So maybe they reported them. Like I said, I don't remember all that.

Goin' Campin' Part II--Tom's version

Sorry, Mom, but I just had to log on to your blog and tell the same story from a 5-year old's perspective--Tom's. When I read your entry today, it immediately reminded me of the story Tom wrote in his diary that I copied in my family remembrance titled, "The Man in the Boat". I think it is one that shows Tom's appreciation for Dad. It is an entertaining story that spotlights Tom's respect for Dad, and some of the "tricks" Dad used to teach us more than we could ever learn from books.

"WHO NEEDS A FISHING POLE?"
One time we went camping as a family-- (I think it was the only time)—and to me it seemed like it took an eternity to get there. So far, this "jives" with your story, Mom.
My dad had inherited an old Lincoln Continental from the next-door neighbor who had died. He had fixed all the power windows, radio and engine "stuff", and gave me my first experience in what it was like to wax a car.

-----Anyway, back to the story-------
We drove and drove and drove through winding roads until we reached an area that appeared to be little more than a turnout in the road. I remember it was called "Strawberry Creek." Well, he was close. "Peppermint", "Strawberry"--to a kid it's all the same.
We had to carry all our stuff along some trails for about a mile. Again, as a kid it probably seemed like a mile. We made camp just where a creek trembled out of a mountain crevasse, twisted and turned around evergreen stands and fern, and ended in a small pond. The total distance from the crevasse to the pond was about one hundred yards. Then, the first creek was joined by a few others at the pond and became a decent stream or brook.

We set up camp along the creek (about 25 feet away) and we kids were turned loose to explore. Personally, I was determined (as always) to have one hell of a good time. That night, I think Dad made tacos. How he remembered tacos instead of hot dogs is a mystery to me. I'm sure it was hot dogs, because I wasn't much into ANY Mexican food. Of course we had a marshmallow roast after dinner. Funny, I don't remember talking much that night.

Early the next morning, we got up to go fishing. Off I marched behind my father and brother, with my hand-me-down pole from my brother along with a small paper sack containing hooks, sinkers, and a can of whole-kernel corn.

My pole was a type commonly known as a "bait-casting" reel outfit. This was a fishing pole designed to catch fish using live baits such as minnows, frogs, and the like. To the trained fisherman, this outfit can deliver the lure or bait to a spot within one foot of his target. To a five-year-old, this was like an open bobbin of thread on a pencil with a rock tied to the end. As I cast, the bobbin spun faster than the line went out, causing what is commonly known as a "bird's nest."

It was quite a catastrophe for a five-year-old kid. I quickly learned, however, that "slow and easy" made the reel work just fine. The bigger problem was in knowing when a fish was on the line. As it was my first time fishing, I had no idea what to do or when to know that I had a fish.

Enter the "Master"!
My dad soon noticed my dilemma and came over to see if he could show me how to successfully accomplish the task at hand and "snag" one. Oddly, he seemed inept at managing the reel and was decidedly uncomfortable using the reel combo--could this be? My DAD; Righter of wrongs, fixer of things, improviser extraordinaire--boggled???

I was brought back to reality by words I had never heard before--and LOTS of 'em! He pulled and tugged, tugged and pulled and finally, in a fit of exasperation did the worst of all possible things…he got out his pocketknife. My dad was going to cut up my fishing pole! I started screaming and whining as if he were using the knife on me, when all he really did was cut the line just before the bird's nest on the reel. He quickly pulled the old line and bird's nest off the pole and then did something else I didn't expect. He set the pole aside, took me by the hand, and said he wanted to teach me an "old Indian trick"

As I followed him up the hillside away from camp, I wondered what in the world he was doing…Mom was waiting for us to bring back breakfast! He stopped abruptly in a grove of saplings and cut two sturdy pole-like lengths from the stand. "But Dad, " I explained, "we already have a fishing pole."

"I don't know what the ###//!!!???### that thing was for, but catching fish isn't one of them! C'mon, your mother's waiting on us." Down the hill we went. I didn't like the taste of dust from his boots as he slid down the shallow cliff to the creek bed. There, he took two lengths of line from my fishing pole and made us each a "Huck Finn"-type pole. "Now we'll catch some breakfast," he assured me.

I could smell the smoke from our fire as my dad baited our hooks and began to do some serious fishing. For a while I just watched HIM--his very soul focused on what I later learned was the line tension and the easily recognizable tug of a rainbow or brook trout. All of a sudden, he snapped back on the pole, as though some horrible scene had shocked him into action. To my amazement there was a fish! An honest-to-God humongous flip-floppin' trout! "Do it again, Dad!" I shouted, busting at the seams with excitement.

He looked down at me and, seeing my disbelief and wonderment, put the fish back securely on the hook and placed it back in the water. "Hold this," he said, and put the fishing line in my hand so that I could feel the snapping of the line as the fish tugged at it.

We caught a whole stringer full of fish for breakfast that morning using Dad's "old Indian trick". I remember we didn't even use a frying pan to cook the fish. Dad threw a couple of flat rocks directly into the campfire to get them hot, and we cooked the fish right on the rocks. Delicious!



In loving memory of Tom Farnsworth

Goin' campin'!

Let me tell you a story about camping and me!!!! I like being in the woods and all that and as I've said before, I love a lake or stream or even a creek for that matter! BUT! I also like a comfy bed at night and a bathroom, etc. One Memorial Day or Labor Day, I'm not sure which, the three boys that I still had at home begged their Father and I to take them camping! To show you how much camping we did, we didn't make any reservations and thought we would just drive from the San Fernando Valley to Lake Isabella to go camping. My brother Don told us he had a nice big tent and sleeping bags, etc. for camping and we were more than welcome to borrow them. So we got the "equipment" and took off on this "Holiday weekend" after Cappy got off work at 5:00 P.M.! Wrong!!!!! We ran into the most traffic I had ever seen and we lived in L.A.! We absolutely crawled behind every R.V. that was ever made and followed all the directions to Lake Isabella which turned out to be the biggest mudhole I had aver seen and of course, no place to camp! Someone told us to go on up into the Mountains a little farther and there was a "Peppermint Creek" campground and we might be able to get s place there. We got a place and that is what it was, a place to put up our tent and they did have little fire-box type things to cook on but no bathrooms or any of the amenities so we could clean up, etc.!!! It was getting late so we proceeded to put up the tent and try to fix something to eat!!! Thank heavens for hot dogs!!!. We were right along the edge of "Peppermint" creek which was sort of pretty in a "small" way. There was a small waterfall which made a wading pool for the kids and of course we saw a small fish or two sailing along in it!!! It was too late for anything except going to bed that night and I swear that they put my sleeping bag on the only fallen limbs and debris around. We could hear coyotes howling in the night and after a certain time, I had to use the "bathroom" which Cappy told me would be a log to hang my fanny over! I was scared to death that some animal would take a bite out of me to say nothing of all the mosquitoes that we had seen around the tent!!! I made Cappy go with me because I didn't know, either, if there were other campers beyond where we were! He checked it all out and told me he would stand by and make sure nothing would "eat" me! Well, I'm not sure if I slept or not all night, but the next thing I knew Tommy was up and wanted to go fishing! We had a couple of fishing poles but they were for Cappy and Bill, I don't think Steve got into the fishing thing! Cappy cut a willow "pole" and put some of his fishing line on it and a safety pin for a hook! In the meantime, I'm trying to wash up in the creek and get to finding the cereal we had brought along and of course, we did have bacon and eggs. Cappy took Tom and got him situated by the little "falls" and came back and got breakfast while I folded up the sleeping bags, etc. (Oh yes, we planned on staying another night!) I sat aroung on a camp stool most of the day etc. but one of the best parts of the day was that Tom caught a fish with his willow pole and a safety pin for a hook!! He, of course, had to have that for his breakfast! The day was not too warm, after all we were in the mountains! There was another camper or two around and I visited with some of them, etc. We had dinner, (from some of the things that we had brought to eat!!!) That night was as bad as the first night for me but I did manage to "bathrooom" before it got dark. Early the next morning, we broke up camp and started home. Everybody that lived in So. Ca. had the same idea!!! We had to follow the Kern River for a little while and what should happen but we got a flat tire!!! As Steve can tell you the road up there is not an arterial highway and we pulled over as far as we could to fix the flat and at this place, the River was "way down there!" After a lot of cussing on Cappy's part, the tire got changed and we were on our way again. Then we hit Highway 99, which was the main highway into Los Angeles in those days! Traffic was backed up all the way over the Grapevine, and we didn't get home till about 8:00 P.M. or after and we had left camp at about 9:00 that morning!!! Everybody was tired and cranky and hungry, etc. AND I VOWED AS OF THEN, THAT THERE WOULD BE NO MORE CAMPING FOR ME!!!!!! I do remember going one more time after I moved up here to the Valley going up to Silver Lake, and that, even though it was somewhat better, was IT!!!!!!!!!!

Weather and what we do about it!

It has been so hot today! I haven't looked at a thermometer but it was supposed to reach about 102 or 103! It was warm when I first got up today which was much earlier than my 9:00 or 10:00 A.M.! I, in fact opened the door, locked the screen and went in to take my shower! I decided that a "tepid" shower would work for today! Cool me off, but keep me cooler!(or so "they" say!)! We went to the 10:30 Mass and lo and behold the Church was really nice. Not too cold but nice and cool! First time since last Fall sometime that I was able to go to Church without wearing a sweater at least. Even though it's warm, the Church seems cold, cold!!! I started thinking about seeing the kids on the News last night having fun in the American River in Sacramento! When we were kids, we just turned on the "sprinkler" in the front yard and could spend hours out there! Even though we were about 2 miles from the Snake River in Washington, we never went swimming there! Some of our cousins did, in the River near where their farms were. The River was a little tamer there. I can remember my Father telling me how when he was younger, swimming across the Snake River. To me, at that time in my life,that seemed like quite a feat!!!But we did cool off on a hot day in the yard under the sprinkler. Then when we moved into Couer d'Alene, Idaho, we had the beautiful Couer d'Alene Lake. When we first went there none of us kids in the family could swim, but we still made it to the Lake and dangled our feet in the water, getting sunburned like a beet!!! Then I learned to swim! A cousin of mine, a few years older came to visit and I was sitting on the dock dangling my feet and he asked me if I could swim. I told him no and he pushed me off the dock and into the water! I sank like a lead balloon and I opened my eyes and I could see everything on the bottom of the Lake and I started to wave my arms and kick my feet and I slowly came to the surface! I was absolutely beside myself! I had enough sense to use my feet and arms to keep myself from drowning!!! Well, there was no keeping me away from the Lake all Summer long, even if I had to walk down there by myself!!! But I usually had enough brothers and sisters with me to keep me company and they all learned how to swim by just jumping off the dock and into the water! That was one of the most enjoyable times of my childhood! When we moved to California, I loved going to the Pacific Ocean and even though one didn't "swim" there, I loved jumping the waves, etc. I loved to lay flat on my stomach and float in to shore on a wave, etc. seaweed and all!! The Ocean was so restful to me to just sit on a quiet beach, (if you could find one) and just listen to the waves roll in and the seagulls squacking away. I could sit there like that for an hour or two. I found out about the Ocean, that even on cloudy days one could get quite a sunburn! But it was worth it! I have been to some of my relative's swimming pools in later years and find it extremely comforting! Wonder if it is because I am a Pisces? Or whatever that Horoscope rot is!!! I like rainy days, too, and I love looking at beautiful Falls, no matter how small or big they are!!! I guess I've rambled on enough for tonight.

Blue-jays and me????

When Cappy and I moved into Northridge, Ca., the house had a nice "garden spot" out behind the garage. Cappy loved to plant gardens and he really had a "green thumb" when it came to taking care of them. Anyway, he went out to this garden spot and had to clean it up first! Seemed that the former tenants didn't care where they threw their garbage, cans, bottles, etc. (Actually, the whole yard there was a mess when we moved in!!!) I helped Cappy clear up the trash which took a couple of days and then we hauled it to the garbage dump. So then Cappy got out his trusty shovel and began to spade up the place. There were plenty of worms being turned out of their homes because the trash, etc. made it a perfect place for them to grow. He told me one day, when he was digging up what seemed like the whole backyard, that there was a Bluejay that followed right behind him to eat the worms! He didn't seem at all afraid of Cappy, (who wouldn't have harmed a feather on him!) and every day he was out there. This went on for the few years we lived there. Every time Cappy went to the "garden" there was the Bluejay! Cappy got sick while we were there and eventually died while we lived there. I did not want to live in the house anymore and told my landlord so, and with the help of Bob and my two youngest, Steve and Tom, we moved over to Bob's till I could find an apartment or something! I was feeling so blue and alone day but I looked around at Bob's and there was a Bluejay! It was as though he was saying, "I'll be watching out for you!" Well, we did find an apartment and one of the first birds, I saw out the window was a bluejay!After a year, Steve and Tom and I decided to move up to the foothills to live. Cappy and I had been looking for property up there anyway just before he died! Barbara and Babe helped us move our things into this old house with gingerbread, etc. and so a new life began! I was pretty restless for the first few days, wondering what was going to happen to us! I was standing in the kitchen, looking out into the backyard and there was a.... you guessed it! A bluejay and he just hopped around and kept looking up at the window. I suddenly had a calmness come over me and decided that everything was going to be alright! When I moved to Lodi, (I had to go to work because the boys were not getting any Social Security anymore and therefore I wasn't getting any either!) You guessed it again, that darned Bluejay was right outside my window the first few days that I moved in. It isn't that I see those birds all the time but I don't care when or what kind of weather we have, it shows up!!! Kind of a "reassurance!" The other day, I don't know if I told Steve or not but I have been having such a time trying to be healthy, etc. I really got to feeling pretty "blue?" I didn't even think about that bird or "those" birds! But what should come flying right up to the carport and sit there and look at me but a Bluejay!!! I'm not supersticious but... I guess God has been sending me them to remind me that I am not alone and that He is there for me!!!! Before any of you get any ideas that I am losing my mind, ask some of my kids! I have told them about the birds at one time or another after I happened to see one! Well, I'll go and have something to eat now and let you all talk about "poor old Grandma! She's lost it!"

Sometimes I wonder?????

Every once in awhile when I try to sign on I get a blank to fill in and I usually have to sign in my password two or three times, and always the same, very carefully, and yet they tell me it is incorrect. I try one more time and Bingo!!!! Either I am crazy or this machine can't remember what my name is!!!! Enough of that! Anyway was thinking about yesterday and since it was Mother's Day celebrated it with my son Steve. Up to now,or rather, up to this year, I generally celebrated it with my sister Barbara and some of her family. Not that I couldn't have gone to Steve's but Marilyn has a large family and they would celebrate it at one one the other's homes or up at their cabin in the woods ( a family tradition, which is O.K. I love family and particularly family traditions!) However, since Barbara passed away last Sept. and the only close one's around are her family, (I hate being a pest, even though I have a standing invitation to any of their homes!) when Steve called and invited me to be with them in Stockton, it was great! I am still trying to get over my Birthday Bash and a couple of things that have happened since but decided I really had to get out of the house!!! The day was perfect weatherwise and to begin with Steve came over and took me to Church here at my Parish Church at 10:30 and we went directly to Stockton. My youngest little "flower" Lilliana was in great spirits and kept the family laughing at her all day!!!! I wanted so much to take her and hold her but was afraid I might drop her! That didn't deter her though, she went from one to the other grinning, giggling, and showing off that she "might" if everyone didn't watch out, say a few words or so!!!! The day couldn't have been more perfect, as I said before, but after all, it was Mother's Day and I'm sure God's Mother was making sure it was O.K. for everyone!!!!Marilyn said it was going to be a "light" lunch but when we all got there, there was plenty of goodies to gnsw on till the barbecue was ready. We "just" had hamburgers and sausages from the barbeque and there was s couple of salads, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, pickles, etc. for the "burgers". Then Marilyn brought out dessert, or should I say desserts? We had strawberry shortcake, a mousse-like chocolate pie and a fruit pie, (looked like peach!) I had a hamburger and with mine I had a few chips, (I had been guzzling out on the snacks!) then Marilyn asked me what I wanted for dessert, and I guess I should have said "everything!" But I chose the strawberries. So Sarah, bless her heart put her plate down by me and she had some of "everything" with the admonition, "Now Grandma, just watch this, don't eat it!" The more I "watched that chocolate pie, the more it beckoned to me and so when she came back I told her, I changed my mind, I do want a piece of that Chocolate pie!! So she brought me a piece and it was yummy!!!! Any way after we took a few pictures (generation pictures with Lily) I decided I had better get into the house where I could put my feet up as they were really getting swollen. That was kind of a signal I guess, because some of them began to leave and I told Steve I thought it was time for me to go too. I had to stop and get a few? groceries. I was about out and so thought I might just as well get what I needed. I was well "beat" when I got home but thanks to you and Marilyn, it was nice to get out of the house for the day. When I got home, the message machine on the phone was loaded and so I called back the different one's and let them know I was now home!!!! By the time I got my prayers said, it was 11:00 P.M. but I got up yesterday morning at 7:00 A.M. so it was a long day for me. But I did sleep well last night, I just nibbled a few things here for my dinner but I figured I had made up for it at Steve's. Believe me, if I had been hungry, I would not have slept like I did!! Thank you all for the wonderful gifts and the phone calls, etc. That is called "Family" folks!!!

;

Time and trouble....

Has it really been THAT long since my last blog? I shock myself!!!! I thought that I had typed in later than 4/22! Maybe I didn't send it after I typed it!!!! Do you suppose???? Guess I told you all about my friend and "taxi-driver" Rose falling and breaking her arm!!! I told her that little Chihuahua that some one of her family had given her was going to be the death of her yet!!! He is so hyper!!!! Well, after he pulled away from her and caught his leash on her ankle and she fell AND broke her arm, she decided too, that he was too much for her! So she gave him back to her Grandson who gave him to her and he found another home for it!! But Rose in the meantime has been staying at her son's house and came home yesterday for the daytime but will stay nights with some of her family for awhile. It's great to have her back!!! She said that she can't wait now to get back to driving her car so she and I can at least have a way to get us to Church!! Of course right now she can't do too much. Broke her arm near the shoulder so has to use a sling. She said the Dr. told her to keep up the exercises he has given her and before she knows it she will be O.K., but for her now time, she says, seems to drag! I seemed to be doing great here and all of a sudden got a running off the bowels, and a nausea. Don't know whether it was a 24 hour thing or not. Figured out it couldn't have been anything that I ate! Well, I called Steve that evening and he brought over some Pepto-Bismol and so I did get to feeling better. He left and went home about 11:00. The next day felt O.K. and I ate kind of light all day and then on Saturday got a scare when I had my usual trip to the bathroom. Looked like my stool was black and it was!!! That scared me and so I called Steve. He said he was ready to take off from work anyway and would come and take me to the Emergency Room. After 7 hours there, they decided that I was O.K. except that they were going to gve me an antibiotic because of a Urinal infection that I apparently still had from about two weeks ago. Then I found out from my son Bob, and when I got home, and I had a call on my answering machine from a niece who is an R.N. and I had called her earlier in the day about my problem and she and Bob both told me that Pepto-Bismol will do that!!! However, both the hospital and Sue told me that I did the right thing by going to the ER! Which made me feel like not quite the fool that I was feeling like!!!! Went to the Dr. then on Monday which was a regular visit and she also told me I did the right thing!!! Quite a weekend, and with all the coming and going and doing, I feel like I have been put through a wringer!!!! started feeling a little better yesterday, (maybe it was the visit from Rose!!!! We have known each other for at least 20 years and have been neighbors for that long!) But I tend to think that it was getting all the antibiotics out of me!! Oh yes, the Dr. told me not to take anymore of those and in fact took me off all the infection medicine!!!! So I guess maybe my system is getting back to "normal?".
Read your last blog today, Steve, and I wouldn't know what to tell you about giving to the poor!! Did you say you had talked to Fr. John about the man? One never knows, does one? There is a lot of good people out there, like you, and then it's getting to the point to where you never know whether you are being "conned" or not. There are agencies like the Salvation Army, etc. that do feed the poor and don't ask any questions about it! So why is this man standing outside a Church and it seems like day after day and always or almost always a different story? Maybe if he didn't get the handouts there, he wouldn't be standing there!!! Who knows? Father Hayes told some of the guys who used to do that at St. Anne's that they should come to the Rectory and they would give them a voucher to get food and or clothing through the St. Vincent de Paul Society or the Salvation Army. I don't know why but we don't seem to have them around the Church doors any more!!! Think about it!! Thank you for all your help to me when I need it! My problem is that I'm afraid to be taking too much time of you time away from your family!!! Believe me it is appreciated! Times are so tough these days! Seems like only prayer and good works are the only answer!!Well now that I have given you my Drs. report and my advice on how you should live, I'll sign off for this time!!! All I want for Mother's Day is prayers and I know that I have that from my family, but a little better health would be a plus!!!