in my jammies

Colors

2011-04-26T21:41:00.000-06:00

Last weekend was Easter weekend. When I was young, Easter was the signal for the switch from winter wardrobe to summer. When I was young there was not four seasons plus for clothing. Plus we usually only had one Sabbath dress for each of our two seasons. For us in the lower end of the income scale, it was called an outfit.

Therefore, for me Easter is a time to celebrate….out with itchy cumbersome winter clothes which were usually rather dull and in with the light airy summer frocks which were usually bright and cheery; plus, more importantly…it was time to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. That by itself should have been enough to bring out cheerful clothes.

So I was totally surprised that everyone but the teacher and I, was wearing black clothes. Even my daughter. The teacher wore his usually uniform of khaki trousers, striped shirt, and navy blazer but without his usual bow tie. How ironic that the Sabbath School lesson was about Joseph and his coat of many colors and his redemption of his brothers which mirrors Jesus’ redemption of us. Surely it was a time to celebrate. Bring on the colors.

definition

2011-03-31T08:35:00.000-06:00

so much of life is so hazy. my daughter and i were discussing self identity on the ride home from Leslie's gym class. not sure how we came to the subject, but i was reminded of what i have know for a while. i have a tendency to identify myself with my work, which is-i am told- a more masculine trait. it may be because most my female relatives have had work outside the home. my great-grandmother worked as a teacher, watchmaker, and secretary. my grandmother Caryll had a radio program (paid) for a while and wrote newspaper columns for the local paper (unpaid) after she retired from her game warden position for the state of South Dakota. m mother worked as a secretary and teacher. my sis worked as a secretary, teacher, and principal. one of my aunts and two of my great aunts were teachers. my daughter teaches.

but all that being said, our work is not us. the only two definitions i could identify with any certainty that applied to myself were....artistic and independent. seems rather skinny but maybe it is enough.

changes

2010-09-27T20:23:00.000-06:00

when we first moved in, we thought we were going to have a green based decor. after a while it changed to blue sort of by chance. then, well then we bought the dining room chairs. red. lots of red. so moved the blue runner from the little buffet and put the red and green one on; moved the norfolk island pine and put up sis's flowers in her red vase.

the chairs are very comfortable. we had tested many, many chairs and this one was a winner. besides we liked all the brass tacks around the bottom. looks sort of western. now i don't recognize the room. the old chairs were starting to fall apart.

fitting in

2010-09-27T20:11:00.002-06:00

It is Sabbath morning—six o’clock. I am up because of an aching leg, hungry stomach, and a complaining head. It is not what you think, too much to drink. The cause is old age plain and simple. But it did give me an excuse to watch my new sprinkler system in action for the first time. Quite impressive—all the ground was well watered as were the Adirondack chairs.

Most Sabbath mornings have been spent catching a few more winks before showering and going to church. At first going was because the parents were going, then because mom was going, then because the college took roll, then because my job required it. Finally after an off and on again relationship, it was back to being pretty regular but this time because I wanted to be there.

For most of my adult life Sabbath school has been more interesting that church, though there have been one or two very good speakers. The one series I remember and liked was based on John. But the pastor did finish the book as the congregation complained. Guess it was too much like study; however, I love the book of John. Sometimes the music was more inspirational than the sermon; sometimes the congregational singing was the blessing for the day. Late in life I was introduce to a liturgical service and found it to be a great fit. I suppose that many in my church may shy away from it because it is not Protestant enough for them. I like the congregational involvement and the parallel thoughts from different parts of the scripture. The homilies are usually short and well thought out. And best of all, the church has a grand pipe organ.

Now I am in a small community where I drive ten miles of county roads to church. It is a very small but involved congregation consisting of people from small communities and ranches. Blue jeans are not banned as they were in my previous church. Sometimes we get a little silly about our perceived right and wrong. No organ, sigh, no liturgical service. Sermons vary from a read though by a parishioner, a played DVD prepared by the conference, a real pastor’s homily (quality greatly varied), or church at another church—as it was today.

My sis is consistent in telling me that folks in this area are honest, hard working people. From what I can tell, they are not any different than the rest of the country. There are affairs, divorces, illegitimate children, traffic violations, misuse of funds, political intrigue, and late return of library books. The noticeable difference for me is educational level here as compared with my former residence. Ten percent of the population has a bachelor’s degree or higher whereas I came from a community where 67 percent of the population had a bachelor’s degree or higher. Do not misunderstand; they still affairs, divorces, illegitimate children, traffic violations, and the misuse of funds, political intrigue, and the late return of library books. But, the difference was not that one community was honest and hard working and the other was not.

Why am I here? Because my sister is here and we cannot really afford to live separately on just our social security. She is here because her family seems to be more permanently in one area than my family. I choose to be here. The cost of living is definitely less expensive than many parts of the country and I love the scenery and the clarity of the air.

There are some islands of social brightness that feed my mind and body and there is always travel, books, and the internet. I am able to read thought provoking commentaries of the Sabbath School lessons along with other matters of spiritual interest by using the internet. I can keep up on the news and in touch with my friends and former students. There is an mp3 player for music (although not the same as live) and shopping—well, the internet is getting more and more use, but I still like to actually touch, see, and try on items. That necessitates driving some distance.

We didn’t go to church this morning because our church was closed and the area meeting was too far for us. Today only it was to far, because we wanted to go to the library in the afternoon and hear an author from a neighbor state talk about his latest book. He is not just a local phenomenon, but is a best seller in the

and in

France

, and has literary awards from both countries.

So here I stand, jammy clad, on the back deck, watching the sprinklers do their magic. It is quiet, the air bright, and the coffee hot. I am at peace.

a melancholy life

2010-09-27T20:10:00.000-06:00

It is probably impossible not to lead a melancholy life when all the medications taken warn of drowsiness. I suppose it might be possible to be silly and tired….not in my case though. I started life as a serious child with nothing in the middle to lighten the burden. Epitaphs such as “Still water runs deep” piled up with each stage of my life.

By the time I was in college all the fun had been pushed into the corners. I’m not saying that it was the fault of those around me. They seemed to be having a pretty good time. For example, my sister had dates. Lots of dates. She even had two dates in one evening and tried to pass off unwanted dates to me. In fact, she had so much fun in high school she missed being valedictorian even though she is way smarter than I. Even now when we are in our sixties, she has dates.

I blame my melancholy on my Swedish ancestors. Just way too much uncolor in their life: potatoes, white sauce, snow, lutefisk, snow, turnips, and more fish. How can that be a party? After being stuck in a cabin for the greater part of the year because of cold and snow, you pretty much have used up any mystery about the other parties sharing your space. I think I need a little vodka. Well, maybe a cup of strong coffee and a good book would do. I can see how the people in Babette’s Feast fell victim to unimaginable lives. The French blood I do possess is so watered down that if takes a Long Island Tea to wake it up. I had a cousin who could sit in the weak light of the morning with her mother – each with a cup of coffee- until it was clearly paste breakfast without saying a word to each other. How melancholy is that?

My grandmother thought I would never learn to talk because my mother and father were not talkers. I think you have to talk if you want to break free of the blues. ‘

It is easy to mistake melancholy for seriousness. I do not think that they are congruent, but they certainly cross paths. My penchant for serious things exhibited itself as soon as I could read. I was a very serious reader, inhaling books, all kinds of books. My favorite activity was going to the library. The smell of books was intoxicating. I sometimes choose a book by the smell of the pages. I cannot remember if that really worked for picking interesting books, but I can remember the smell of books. Weirdly, I wound up working my way through college working in a bookbindery. Unfortunately, the smell of book glue sort of ruined the smelling book thing. At least for awhile. Older books had a much different smell (more inviting, alive) than the new books.

Mistakenly, I though all people who went to college were interested in learning, in books, and were smart. Then I thought it was just because I was at a church college that it wasn’t true, and that if I was at a ‘real’ college, everyone would be interested in learning, and in reading, and would be smart. Ha! I am such a slow learner. It took awhile for the truth to sink in. A degree only means you figured out how to pass the classes.

There were not very many students who had spent time watching Greek plays on Sunday afternoon (of their own choice) while the rest of the family was doing something else (I know not what-I was really into those plays).

So here I am at sixty, still seriously afflicted with melancholy, so much so that watching Norbet with my relative was totally painful.

busy day

2010-09-24T21:04:00.000-06:00

As my mother reached her eightieth decade she became boastful about the days when she did three things. My sister and I have since made it the standard of a successful day for us even though we are not eighty ….yet. Close.

According to the standard—we had a very successful day. We almost did ten things:

1. exercise with weights at the rec center

2. took a new route through the northern hills to Rapid taking lots of fall pictures along the way

3. ate lunch at a new restaurant to us in Nemo (we asked for the kid’s meal and they let us order it and we could have happily split that)

4. stopped at the food bank for snacks for the after school program

(sis got a hug from the old duffer that runs the place--we decided that made us dufferettes)

5. shopped at Sheels for sis’s swim goggles

6. shopped at Gordman’s for décor for the centerpiece we are making for sis’s workshop in October (found a tiny cowboy boot for two dollars)

7. shopped at Michaels for décor for the centerpiece (found tiny hay bails and a little cowboy and a matching sized calf --didn't cost much)

8. shopped at Borders for books and a coffee break—the pumpkin bread is really good - had a coupon for 40% off, yeah

9. stopped at Pier One to look at all the pretty things and wound up buying four dining room chairs - had a coupon for 20% off

I am now officially broke. We did need different chairs, sort of. The little chairs with slatted seats were starting to fall apart when the traditionally built women in our family sat in them. Sigh.

I think my resolve not to spend money just dissipated after a hard day of shopping, driving, eating, and working out. I almost made it. Just should not have made the last stop. The chairs are cool though.

morning coffee

2010-09-18T16:26:00.002-06:00

Sis and I have been trying to be good about our exercise. We have been swimming at least twice a week and last week when the they closed the rec pool for cleaning we went to the weight room three times. Friday sis had a meeting at the rec center after we finished with our weights so I decided to venture over to the coffee klatch table.

This was a big adventure for me. Normally I have a book or magazine and just entertain myself. And am quite happy about it. But my sister, the social one, has been trying to encourage me to mix. She will lead me into a group of people and sit down with me and then get up while someone is talking to me and leave me all alone. Well, except for the people I am supposed to mingle with.

So back to the coffee regulars. Am not sure if they really do any walking, weight lifting, or swimming, but there always seems to be a mixed group of oldsters hanging out in the lobby. There are not really any old time cafes in town so the rec center lobby seems to be the place to be. We have a very nice coffee shop, but I think the coffee is a little too fancy and a little too pricy for this group. But, I don’t think you can sit in the lobby and drink their coffee unless you pay your dues.

I walked up to the table and was greeted with friendly hi’s. The first topic of conversation was roses. To trim or not to trim in the fall. A elderly lady of great self assuredness stated that she always cut her roses down to about twelve inches high in the autumn, (whoops….fall) and lightly mulched them. I mentioned that I had just read that you were not supposed to trim roses in the autumn after I had trimmed my climber. Well, her roses were teas so that was okay. She did it every year (implying it worked just fine). The woman with the question had a shrub rose so was quite confused as to the care for hers.

After the conversation noodled around it settled on canning. The lady with frizzy dyed hair, “I just put up over a hundred jars of tomatoes. I had five jars in the last batch but didn’t want to waste the pressure cooker for just five so I put up three jars of chicken.” I stated I didn’t can because I was afraid the pressure cooker would blow up. The frizzy haired lady admitted that she was afraid at first but her husband taught her how to can. The other ladies just stared at me. In an attempt to change the subject, I asked if anyone made tomato preserves. I thought they would probably know about tomato preserves as my grandmother always made them. Again stares. The frizzy lady knew, but said she did not like them. To me there is nothing finer than tomato preserves on fresh baked whole wheat bread. Where are my soul mates?

More people arrived and finally there seemed enough men for them to have their own little pow-wow.

By now I was pretty much silent. The foray into the use of ancestory.com was thwarted when the newcomer stated, “ they don’t always have the correct information and I don’t want mine changed.” I tried to explain it would not change your information unless you directed it to do so with no success.

My last intrusion into the conversation concerned the use of computers. They did not seem to understand the verb googling, nor did they understand that excel was not just a grid in which to organize information. The idea of actually manipulating the data was greeted with silence. It all came to an end when I suggested that instead of putting the time for the pills on the spreadsheet, she could use Google calendar and it would pop up reminders to take the medication. “Oh, well, that wouldn’t do much good—the computer is downstairs.” “Well,” said I, “you could put it on your smart phone and it would remind you.” It sent them over the edge. I left.

Christmas Letter 2009

2009-12-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

Dear family & friends:

It has been a busy year for a retired person.

In May, my sis and I went to England and France (just Paris) for two weeks; which, of course, was not long enough. We did a literary tour of places we had read about or had seen on TV or in the movies. My favorite event was evensong in Gloucester Cathedral. My favorite place was Paris, I suppose because I thought I would never get there.

But the big event of the year was the arrival of my first grandchild, Leslie Marie Helbley. I am in California for a year to help with Leslie while Jennifer teaches chemistry at La Sierra. Kieth is working for a company that makes sensors--mainly for oil companies.

Neal and Jenny are both working for La Sierra University. Neal is interim network chief--not official work title--and Jenny is secretary for the art department. She is enjoying talking Photoshop classes.

I drove my Mini out to California in June. It has run flat tires so is a hard ride, but not uncomfortable. I was able to stay overnight at my cousins in Grand Junction. We had a very nice visit. I wouldn't mind living in Grand Junction.

There are not many Mini's out here. California tends to buy Japanese. I guess there would be more Mini's on the east coast. I try to buy local so I don't have to drive the freeways. But Keith and Jennifer, and Neal and Jenny have taken me to IKEA. Truly an experience. Also have been to the San Diego Zoo.

Christmas is strange without snow and cold......but I am not missing the zero weather back in South Dakota.

I have started painting again and have managed to finish four acrylics of various sizes.

Happy Christmas to everyone and a wonderful New Year.

Mini Cooper - how to fix broken car latch

2009-10-04T14:33:00.001-06:00

if you are in the middle of the nation where there are no mini dealers, maybe you shouldn't have a mini, but if you know the right people--well then it is ok.
i thought i had broken the latch on the driver's side. i foolishly tried to open lock and latch at same time and heard a terrible ratcheting sound. i could open door by reaching my hand outside and pulling the latch, but not by the inside latch. the fix! well, i drove to california (not just for this, but for an extended visit) and my engineer son-in-law volunteered to have a look see.

after removing the door, (many visits to internet) he discovered (internet also) that many minis have this problem. the latch is not broken, but the cable has stretched.

following are pictures of his fix.

1. cutter and inside clicker part of mechanical pencil

2. cut piece

3. cutting piece to length to use a shim

4. cutting grove with hacksaw

5. shim in place on cable

now all that needs to be done is to put door in place.

getting armrest off was a bit of hassle - slightly different that the one shown on line.

YEAH!!!!!!!

around riverside

2009-09-23T17:50:00.000-06:00

this summer i have been water walking in jennifer and keith's community pool. i try to go early in the morning before there are a lot of people. some mornings the air is cool, but after a few laps it is just fine.

now that jennifer is in school i watch leslie in the morning. it is still too hot to go in the afternoon even though the kids are now in school. i have been talking leslie for stroller rides around the neighborhood for her entertainment and my exercise.

grandbaby's weekend

2009-09-12T14:29:00.003-06:00

four generations: 2-kaye, 4-leslie, 3-keith, 1-ellen

almost all the grandparents. grandfather & grandmother helbley; grandfather & step-grandmother lawson; and of course, leslie

dedication pastors with leslie & parents
la sierra church, california, september 5, 2009.

trying to get the roots right

2009-08-24T14:45:00.006-06:00

there are versions of my attempt to get the bottom part of the picture correct. it looks better on here than it does in life. does it need a little bird in a nest, or squirrel or something a little cutesy? i started out trying to making in light and airy, but it turned out rather gloomy, rather like a old russian novel.
i think the roots in this one look a little awkward and not attached to the tree although the photograph is rather like this. sometimes it is hard to believe real life.

the background of trees and grass has lots of color but lacks vitality.

connections

2009-07-23T15:31:00.004-06:00

I am in California for a while as nanny for my first grandchild. She is a cutie, but a great occupier of time as most babies are.

Therefor, I am learning new routes, new driving rules (motorcycles, for example, can drive in the space between lanes), new stores, and new faces.

My daughter does a lot of shopping at Food-4-Less, which I immediately figured out was part of Kroger (cans labeled Kroger!). I tried my scan tag which said King Soopers and it worked. I have now used the card in Colorado and California in the following Kroger stores: King Soopers, City Market, and Food-4-Less. I have seen Ralphs in California, but have not been inside...yet!

Libraries across the country must have very tight connections. When I got a new card in Belle, they would only let me check out two books. When I got a new card in Riverside, they would only let me check out 2 books!. They are centuries apart in technologies. The 2 book rule must go back to the dark ages.

In some ways our country is way too homogenized, probably impossible to stop considering tv, movies, social networking sites, and ease of travel. Every semi-large place has a McDonald's or two, Olive Garden, Starbucks, Target, Pizza Hut, etc. What I really like is to eat and shop at places that are really rooted in their place (like the Tattered Cover, McGuckin's Hardware, The Green Bean, The Wild Rose, and MONA{Museum of Nebraska Art}).

Even with all the connectedness, this sameness in our culture, there is not a greater understanding of the essential likeness of all of us.

end of spring, beginning of summer

2009-07-04T15:35:00.005-06:00

bonfire in back yeard

leslie marie

contrary to what most school children believe, summer does not begin on the day school is dismissed for summer vacation. confusing, i know, but summer usually starts around june 21 or 22 on the summer solstice.

all the holidays in belle are mostly appropriated by sis's relatives and friends, so we thought we would have a summer solstice party. granted it is fairly close to the fourth, but it was the best candidate for a get together in the month of june. we decided to have a burning of old financial papers party in the back yard, so the party started at 8:30 and went till all the papers were turned to ash. it went well, with some people bringing a box or two. it is either burn the papers or shred them and the cheap shredders only take one or two sheets at a time.

after the solstice, a raced out to california to be with my daughter who was having a baby. the drive through south dakota, wyoming, and western colorado was great. utah and nevada ....well, not much to say. the worst though was the drive from las vegas to los angelos , especially since it was a sunday night. lots of dead and resting cars along the way to go with the slow and go traffic.

leslie marie was born on monday evening, june 30. since she was tiny, she has to be in the hospital till she gains a little weight, but she is working on that mightily. mom gets to come home earlier.

that is all the good news, and the really great news. the bad news is i had to put dennis my buddy cat asleep, and the other bad news .... i think there is something wrong with the brake on the front right of my mini. urgg.

you can't go home

2009-06-16T21:10:00.005-06:00

top - port isaac, cornwall
middle - gloucester, england
bottom - edinburgh, scotland

in the early seventies, i was in edinburgh. i remember it being charming, sweet, and green. i remember going through the old part of town and taking a tour through holyrood castle (which was especially meaningful as i had just finished reading Mary, Queen of Scots, by Frazier).

this time it seem noisy, dirty, and uncharming. there may have been extenuating circumstances for this impression. one, all the streets downtown were torn apart and there was a lot of accompanying noise. two, we didn't visit the castle or the old part of town. three, we were rushed and did not have time to really spend time poking around in the little nooks and crannies. we stayed next to the zoo and did not even have time to visit.

i remember going back to the street i spent my high school years living on to find the house were i had lived. half of the houses on the block had been torn down including my old home. now i am fearful of going back to boulder and boulder county for all the changes i will find. the small funky town is no more.

if you live in a place the changes are gradual enough (even the startling changes) so you are not shocked. you grow into the new stuff. guess i will not be doing a schmidt trip!

on the other hand the visit to gloucester cathedral was wonderful. i had seen pictures in art books and have watched the Harry Potter movies that used the cathedral as background. but real life is always more. the fan ceilings of the hall was wonderful. i originally put it on my itinerary to cross off one of the items on my bucket list--to hear an organ in a gothic church. i scoured the guide books to find a church that had evensong and gloucester happened to be on our way to port isaac. i didn't quite hear a pipe organ--they were singing baroque music hence were accompanied by a small electric organ in a box. BUT....it turns out that the cathedral is famous for its singers. people come from all over to go to school in town so they can sing in the choir. all males, ages ranging from quite young to older. we were able to sit in the quire and the accoustics were all that i had expected. i was supprised that their were not more people there to listen (only about 10).

port isaac also turned out to be a pleasant experience. even though i had seen it on tv and in the movie Saving Grace, it was my first visit. it was a little touristy, but not spoiled like rye.

sometimes expectations can be totally crushed, sometimes altered as in the case of the organ (i didn't hear a pipe organ, but the singing was a great replacement), and sometimes it turns out just right. i would guess that if i were to go back to port isaac in a few years i would experience the same sense of dissapointment i felt when i visited edinburgh.

being old

2009-06-12T20:14:00.002-06:00

my sis and i went to overseas for 2 weeks and when i came back i found my cat ill. he did not bond with the house sitter and was very weak and had fluid in his longs. he is an old cat. i guess the lesson is old things do not like changes very well. the older you get the less you like them.

my great aunt in her last years...she lived to be over a hundred...ate the same food for her meals everyday. she didn't want any changes. i notice that as i get older, my eating habits are less adventuresome. more and more foods do not settle well.

i had changed cat food, because science diet raised there prices every month...or so it seemed. i had been feeding the cats that since they were young. dennis did not like the new food. i had changed it just before i left. turned out not to be a good idea. had to change back to get him to eat.

the doctors told me ...when i was thinking about moving mom to nebraska... that very old people usually die within a short time after a move. she chose to move rather than stay in boulder where she knew where things were and were she had friends. withing six months she had passed away. she was 90.

so i am thinking that if i don't move soon...and it is not a good time to move....i will be in this house (which i like--just don't like the cold weather and am far away from kids) until i die. the question is, how old is too old to be thinking about moving around?

even though i am an older person, i planned the route for our overseas trip. my computer got quite the workout. i especially liked that i could plan and print out railroad schedules for our trips in england and france. i am old but not foolish. my sis and i decided it would be less frustrating to ride the trains rather than try to drive on the left side of the road. she made all the reservations and so we went and had a great time.

and even though i don't program or do all the things that young people do today on computers, i still try to do new things. my kids help me:)

girly girl

2009-04-07T09:52:00.003-06:00

my grandniece was given the assignment to make an easter bunny collage at school. as you can see, she is a girly girl. her bunny has hair, hairband, earrings, necklace, eyelashes with a special touch on the tips of the eyelash, and a little blush on the cheeks. i especially like the fetching attitude of the bent ear! i don't know how my daughter will cope if she just happens to have a girly girl. i don't think there is much chance; but you never know. my grandniece sometimes comes over to visit and last time she had a bag the size of a small carryon filled with her makeup and her mother's old makeup. BUT, she plays a lot with legos. yeah!

good neighbors

2009-03-25T12:16:00.002-06:00

sis and i gave it a try. we would go out, shovel; come in, rest; and repeat. but i could tell we were not making much progress toward getting out even though the snow pile was really getting tall. so i went down and asked the neighbor with his little four wheeler if he could help. and he did. we paid him brownies and some gas money. he was very nice. he said the city working all day (plus yesterday) would only have about an eighth of the city plowed. they don't have the equipment. i think the big highways are probably open. at least we are not trapped in our house anymore. ranch mart is open (so our neighbors tell us) so we could buy food if we need. sort of....ranch mart is a gas station store.

another fun little project

2009-03-24T17:56:00.002-06:00

i decided i really couldn't afford a messenger bag, so i decided to make one. ha~ it may or may not work. will test it out in the next few weeks.

Not a care free place to be!

2009-03-24T13:15:00.002-06:00

last year it was the rainy spring with flooding....serious flooding and water almost coming into our basement. this year it is a big, big blizzard and if the snow melts quickly; we might have water coming in our basement.

new skill

2009-03-21T08:01:00.002-06:00

everyone else probably already new how to do this. but finally i had a new high score so i could try it out. i used keith's instructions plus putting it in photoshop and cropping it to get rid of extra stuff. so here it is....my new high score.

what was cyn thinking?

2009-03-19T19:02:00.001-06:00

it was partly my fault ... we were looking for a movie to show the first through fourth graders. when you see disney you think...okay that will work. wall-e is a very good movie. but........... it is a little to sophisticated for first through fourth graders. actually now that i think about it, i think it is more for grown up types. so about one fourth of the kids wound up at my table drawing. sigh.

what was I thinking?

2009-03-18T17:14:00.002-06:00

another day with the after school program. i try to think of things to do that are educational, take only a small amount of time, don't use a lot of materials, and that are fun. the one thing that i do that i shouldn't is forget the age of the students. i tried playing the word game where you make up definitions to words to use with the real definition in order to bluff your opponents. what was i thinking? i got questions like....we can't do that, we don't know the definition of the word! i tried to get them to make up a def before looking it up. sigh. some wrote sentences, some stared at their paper, i wrote some, and i will never do that again.

new high score

2009-02-17T13:01:00.003-07:00

i am sure that people get lots higher scores, but i just need to record this for my sis to see.

bed making

2009-02-17T12:51:00.002-07:00

i always get the pictures in the wrong order! i have trouble making my bed with clean sheets because of the 'great' help. dennis was under the top sheet and sam was poking him from the top. dennis is making his get away. but a few minutes later they were taking up space at the end of the bed as best buddies.

it doesn't matter where dennis is in the house; the minute a snap the sheet to spread it over the bed, he appears. it doesn't do much good to push him off the bed as he jumps up just in time to be covered by the sheet or blanket; then it is toes up with claws out. poor sheets.

superbowl party

2009-02-01T20:49:00.002-07:00

well, it is over. my nephew always has a party at his house. he has a big tv etc. so everyone was cheering for the cardinals, therefore, just for fun i decided to cheer the steelers. never has my team ever won. maybe this time doesn't count either because i really wasn't that serious. the last big run by fitzgerald was impressive as was the last td catch by the steelers. the steeler bully act was uncalled for. all in all it was very entertaining. but i won't say anything about cheering for the steelers in this part of the country.

finished canyon

2009-01-19T12:24:00.003-07:00

the canyon painting is finished....i think. am starting a new one since i have the paints out!

changes for the new year

2009-01-19T09:15:00.003-07:00

when.....the sun is shining in the morning, our living room looks cozy. we have changed things around a bit. we decided we didn't like green. plus, we were trying to work out the best seating without making the space look small. so the little green love seat went to a new home. it blocked the room visually. then two new wicker chairs came which provided the same amount of seating, but took up less space visually and spatially.
sis's chair from nanny came back into the room. then we traded out my old striped green couch (dirty, grungy, and breaking down) for a new tannish couch (covered to keep it nice for company-hey, at least it is not covered in plastic!). i am trying to talk my sis into painting the wall in the kitchen dark blue. we are putting away the green stuff and looking around for blues and golds. we are turning very swedish!.

painting progress

2009-01-02T20:10:00.002-07:00

i am finally getting around to working on the foreground. i put it off for a bit. there are a lot of bushes and grasses. i still have to work on the lower right hand corner, but i think it is working out. the brush is rather light and some is golden brownish color, but it can't be lighter than the rock with the sun on it. so am using devious methods to gray down the front and still have it be light. is that an oxymoron. it works though.

2008-12-25T11:05:00.004-07:00

it is tradition for the extended family to gather Christmas eve for home made noodle soup --home made noodles...with butterballs. i think the butterballs are actually some bread crumb combo with lots and lots of butter. I have to limit my intake.

my sis and i usually head over to her youngest son's place for opening presents on Christmas morning with the kids. her granddaughter took time out to give the newest kitty in the house a pet. and i love the picture of dad reading his son's homemade Christmas card that went with the homemade tree ornaments.

as i looked out the back window i saw the poor little mini car left over from paintball games.

sister game (friendly) wars

2008-12-25T10:58:00.003-07:00

my sis got 143 the other day on the wordsense daily game... it took me a few days to catch her and then on christmas day i got 152. so the glove has been put down. go for it sis.

about winter

2008-12-17T21:24:00.002-07:00

It's winter in South Dakota
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At twenty-five below
Oh, how I love South Dakota
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut
Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave South Dakota
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground.

(given to me by Belle Fourche librarian--she found it on the internet. I don't know the author)

painting at last

2008-12-14T15:43:00.002-07:00

i have know since march that i was to paint a picture for my daughter and son-in-law. but, of course, i waited till the last minute. i am progressing though. the paper on top is folded up so you can't see the bottom half of the photo. i think my daughter took it when they were out hiking; but i don't know where they were. you can see that it is not a photo copy. the proportions don't match. and the colors and details are not an exact copy, yet i am sure that you can tell what it is. i need to finish the upper right hand corner next. the paper is different colors because of the folds.

making things

2008-12-13T18:11:00.002-07:00

every once in a while my sis and i carry through on our threat....(we could make that). since her daughter-in-law mowed grass for us this summer, we made her a purse. sis did most of the work. i applied the beads. the top part has dragonflies, which robin really likes. (just as i was typing this, she and her family came over and we gave her the purse and she did like it...a lot).

i also bought some christmas greenery...fake.. and candles and made a centerpiece for our table except that i can't put it on the table. dennis the cat thinks it is for his pleasure ....to pull apart. it is coal in your stocking, mr kitty kat!!!!

december fog ....and cold

2008-12-13T13:45:00.003-07:00

last weekend was a wonderful autumn day. today winter is slamming down even though winter does not start till the 21st. it is the beginning of a freeze. down to -13* at night. so we are turning up the heat to 68* upstairs and 65* downstairs. it is usually set at 60*. if the electricity should go off. we will be warmer for a few minutes longer. i have my super down sleeping bag i can crawl into. it is for sure a 3 dog night. three cats just wont cut it. sorry cc, dennis, & sam.

taking care of chickens in winter

2008-12-12T13:18:00.004-07:00

sis took out the large horse water tank for the winter. the chickens and ducks have two rubber tubs ....small... for the winter which are filled with fresh water every day. you can see why they have to be refilled every day....besides knocking out the frozen water and putting liquid water for them to drink....before the ducks completely muddy it all up.

what were they thinking?

2008-12-09T20:35:00.001-07:00

would you buy a small child a t shirt like this? only in the west

little kid fun

2008-12-07T20:08:00.001-07:00

more bonfire

2008-12-07T19:55:00.003-07:00

the bonfire in the meadow

2008-12-07T19:38:00.004-07:00

you need to view from the bottom up!

a small parade of lights

2008-12-07T19:33:00.002-07:00

west river life

2008-12-06T20:01:00.002-07:00

tonight was parade night in belle. (i will have pictures later as i have to recharge my camera battery. it died right at the end of the parade.) people line their cars on main street for the four blocks of the parade and store owners invited their family and friends to the stores for the viewing. even though the parade does not take very long, it seems to be a big even in this small town.

sis and i were invited to a family party in a barber shop on main street. there must have been 15 to 18 in the shop with everyone bringing food. so first it was chips and cider, then the parade, and finally chili and silly stories. as many times as this family gets together one would think they would run out of things to talk about; but every time there are new stories. i think my sis has not heard all of them yet either and it is her family.

so tonight it was about the very large women with public relations problems that rode a very small motorcycle that had side extensions somewhere on the bike to keep her cheeks from being burnt by the exhaust. i hope she never comes into the shop for a hair cut...no one will be able to keep a straight face.

then there was the story about my sis slugging another woman. it happened when her kids were young and another mother pushed my sis's kids out of line and put her own in line. i never expected that of my sis. but on the other hand i would not tangle with her. after all she was a principal......on a reservation.

the funniest story was about her son waxing the floor of the rec center. he had one of those electric buffers with the big round brush that goes around and can get out of control if you don't watch what you are doing. he got tired of walking it around after two circuits and went home and got a pair of roller blades and his radio and went back to work. so there he was being pulled around the gym floor on his roller blades listening to his radio as he buffed the floor.

tomorrow the family and friends are getting together at two at the big burn pile out by the chicken house. hmmmmmm. i wonder what new stories i will hear.

ps. the natives of this state divide it into two sections: east of the missouri is east river and west of the missouri is west river.

christmas rush

2008-12-06T14:10:00.006-07:00

from thanksgiving to christmas it is an avalanche of rushing time. sis had all her shopping done before thanksgiving. i still have to paint a picture and buy something for my son. but there are all those other 'serious' things that seem to have to be done before christmas day. my sis has to bake batches of cookies (i gave it up after the kids left), make lefsa, and more cookies. then there are the open houses, the parades, and christmas programs in which grandchildren are the 'stars.'
thankfully i had my hair cut and colored before thanksgiving.

we put up our christmas tree at the beginning of the month because sis's grandson (kindergarden) wanted to help put it up. he is a good helper. he always helps us clean the chicken house and really helps. but we still have to do some outside decorating.

my sis's birthday is also in the time frame between thanksgiving and christmas. i lost her present someplace in my room, but found it the day after her birthday. on her birthday, one of her son's family gave her some joke gifts. a little teasing. i was warned ahead of time so i wouldn't be shocked to see the two pillows i just gave to robin and james coming back to my sis. sis didn't remember that i had bought them, so she thought they were really hers. she also got a lot of stuff (as a joke) that she is not supposed to eat...candy, soda, etc. her real present from them was a purse she had wanted from the shop next door to her son's workplace. she also got a book and a scented candle; all things she is glad to have and use and not dust.

at this age, i truly understand my grandmother's wish not to receive any gifts that have to be dusted. both my sis and i have collected things and decor items through the years that are now more of a burden than a pleasure. you 'can't' throw them away because they were a gift, or because you yourself paid good money for the item, or the most burdensome of all, because it is an inherited item (supposedly treasured by ancestors).

thanksgiving holiday

2008-11-28T09:19:00.003-07:00

my sis and i spent thanksgiving day with her family and their extended family. it was quite a group. everyone from the oldest (100) to the youngest (7) was at the same table (the reg table plus kitchen table plus a folding table). when i was young.....well, the kids sat at a different table. i am sure that was to enable the adults to tell stories not meant for little ears. it was a very pleasant day. of course, ate too much. will have to make sure and walk today.

the little green couch is gone. we have a small house and so we are trying to maximize the space by the choice of our furniture. the couch only sat two people so it was replaced by two wicker chairs. the room already looks bigger. we decided we wanted to have blue as our accent color. so the green must go. green is nice, but we both like blue better.

when i was christmas shopping i saw this little lamp for half price so i picked it up. thought it went with our western cottage theme.

today we are not shopping even though it is black friday. we went wednesday. today we are cleaning the chicken house and putting up christmas decorations and my sis is babysitting her two grandchildren. i think we will get our assigned 3 tasks done today. mom (when she was older) always bragged when she got three things done in a day. i was teaching at the time so did a lot more than 3 things. so it became sort of a joke, but now as my sis and i are getting to be that old, it is not quite the joke it used to be. we, however, still easily get our 3 a day in everyday, not just once a week or once a month.

the light saga

2008-11-21T16:46:00.002-07:00

my sis hated my experiments with the lights in the dining room. she did not like the copper/bronze faux finish or the collage on the glass. sigh...... so now we have new lights . we both like the design because it is woodsy. and it will increase the value of the house.

happy day

2008-11-18T07:33:00.002-07:00

sis and i are going to town today. not that i have any money to spend. i am happy just because i like to go to town and window shop...see pretty things. and more importantly, the sun is out today and it is not too cold out. i was out in my fluffy robe taking pictures; brisk, but so much better than previous days. the door to the deck was not covered by blinds and the blinds were up on the front windows so you can see the sunrise through both windows of the house.

a little sunshine

2008-11-15T20:39:00.002-07:00

i looked off the back deck this morning as i was filling the bird feeder and spied our "doctor's" (pa) peacock in the neighbor's yard. when the doc bought the farm north of us the seller said the peacock was included. no choice. i don't think he minded as he has several horses and dogs. he looks terrible right now. his tail feathers are a sad mess....no feathers. when he is in fine feather he spends a lot of time announcing it to the neighborhood. i don't know if there is a mrs peacock around.

when the sun goes down now it does not linger. there is no soft evening glow. it hits the hills and then it is gone. my sis and i tried to capture the light on the bluffs and hills but we were not to successful. i am really glad there was sunshine today even if only for a little bit. i am trying to convince my sis to move to a warmer climate and one where the sun shines a lot more. maybe grand junction. it is on the train line west. and they have bookstores. new and used.

habits

2008-11-13T21:12:00.002-07:00

i think it is harder to build a habit than to break one unless you are dealing with something addictive. sis and i made our third mile walk today. we want to try and do 4 a week which probably doesn't sound like much to people who walk all the time. but if you haven't been walking, getting into the routine and finding the right time can be tricky.

many of the places we want to visit in england require walking...walking to see the sights and walking to get from the train station to the attraction. we don't need to walk fast; we just need to be able to walk for a long period of time.

staring ....again

2008-11-10T20:06:00.002-07:00

my sis has been trying to get me to sign up at the local rec center for 6 months now...more or less. so today i went down and paid my dues. we walked a mile on their indoor track after work today. it is so much easier on old joints than concrete. it took us half an hour to do a mile. don't laugh. it is a start. they have a great pool which my sis loves...me ...i am not so fond of water.

help for the older persons

2008-11-08T07:35:00.004-07:00

some days are down days for me so thursday when we had a snow day i sort of collapsed into nothingness. my sis had a great burst of energy: worked on sewing project, painted a picture, and i don't know what else--she was busy. friday was another snow day. some people were returning to work, but there was no school. sis had a party planned for some of our after school kids, but that was canceled. she went out to tackle shoveling the driveway. i was inside cleaning out the fridge. i asked if she could take out the garbage sacks when they were full since she had volunteered to do it the day before. well, it was a bit much to ask just after she had worked on the driveway. she was really mad at me. BuT, we were saved by the arrival of her grand-kids and her son. he took one look at the driveway and the ice on the sidewalk and went home to get his little front loader that he, his brother, and their dad had bought. there was probably a 4 foot drift all across our driveway and the snow was really wet. in fact, if you look at the snow picture you can see a blue air pocket. my nephew said it is because the wet air is so cold that it turns blue. not quite sure how that works. after the driveway was cleared, he and his dad finished our little water diversion project so that the water from the roof does not drain onto the sidewalk. the ice that formed every snow storm was pretty dangerous. formerly the water that was coming down the gutter was too much to go unde the sidewalk as planned and it would spout up at the connection at the sidewalk and spill out and then freeze. we have a couple of cracks in the sidewalk that have to be mended. so we rerouted the gutter over the sidewalk. next spring we will plant a vine to grow up over the gutter. it should make a pretty entrance to our little house.

mini vs 4x4 truck

2008-11-07T10:14:00.001-07:00

okay....here is the controversy. i say my mini is safer on snowy and snow packed streets than my sis's truck.

first blizzard of 08-09 winter

2008-11-06T10:29:00.003-07:00

snow day! yeah!
it is all sort of fun until you have to go out and shovel off the deck and driveway. i went out and fixed the bird feeder so the birds could eat. my sis tossed some seed on the concrete below the deck. why it doesn't have snow i don't know. from the picture you can see a huge drift of snow right at the edge of the concrete. dennis the cat wanted to go out until he realized what was out there. so he sits by the sliding doors downstairs and watches the juncos through the glass.

theme dinner - halloween

2008-11-06T10:00:00.007-07:00

well, my sis and i did it again. another theme dinner. it is a lot of work, but it entertains us old folks. one of her sons does not do anything for halloween, but the other one who lives in town takes his children out trick-or-treating. so we had a halloween themed dinner for the kids. we bought a hairy spider to hang from the light and made ghoulish food--bleary-eyed potatoes(potatoes with olive eyes and guacamole sauce and taco sauce, gruel (thick broccoli soup with half a boiled egg as an eye; it also had an olive pupil), mummy meatloaf (meatloaf with two slices of round motza cheese eyes with olive pupils and then wrapped in noodles), and carrot cake with a spider web on top.

sis bought lots of candy for trick-or-treaters. we lighted the tiki torches and put little battery tea lights inside paper sacks. but not many came. we should have read the paper first as they reported that nationwide, trick-or-treating is way down.

i had to take a picture of our very own halloween cat. he sleeps a lot and is not at all scary. he is the nicest of our 3 cats.

the dining room light

2008-10-27T19:00:00.002-06:00

this is the light....one they always take down on the redecorating shows on tv. trying not to spend more money, it has been altered by paint, taking off the rims on the shades, and by putting maps on the shades. still thinking about doing more so we can stand to live with it.

sunday dinner

2008-10-27T12:41:00.003-06:00

i am not much of a social person, but my sister is, plus she has family in town. so we had one of her son's family over for dinner sunday evening.

it turned out to be a little stressful because we did not clean house on friday. on sunday we were cleaning and making dishes that we had not made before.

sis made a super raspberry cheesecake...one you bake...for dessert and i made souffles, salad, and steamed asparagus. note: we picked things out of season so paid dearly for the aspargus and the raspberries. the salad was spring mix with toasted pecans, blueberries and a parmesan like cheese with a simple dressing.

actually i shopped friday morning at walmart for groceries, but had to stop at safeway for the raspberries and aspargus. they have just remodeled the safeway store in spearfish and it is really nice. sort of a little like the whole foods thing; but the best part is they have a starbucks. my sis and i still like to go to the locally owned coffee places though because of their unique style. my sis's daughter-in-law works at one in belle--she like to go there, of course--and i like to go to the one down town in belle---it has art work on the wall.

we had lunch friday at the downtown coffee shop; sis had california chicken salad sandwich which she said was really good and i loved my three cheese tuna melt. i don't fix fix in the house because sis does not like it much. i think i would it more fish and less other types of meat.

we have been totally disatisfied with the chandelier over the dinning room table. it was brassy gold and most ordinary. i started by painted it to look coppery. then i tried winding stuff around the arms to disguise it. was just ok. took off the stuff then i painted the shades brownish..turned out ugly. then i got the idea to collage maps on the shades. seems like we can live with that for a while. need to put in smaller bulbs so they don't show as much.

the true price of eggs

2008-10-23T17:25:00.003-06:00

as i mentioned before, my sis decided to buy chickens while i was in california. it is nice to have home grown eggs....organic and all that. but at what cost?
1. chicken house
2. fencing
3. feed
4. treats - cracked corn
5. feed holders
6. water holders
7. horse tank for the ducks to swim in
8. straw for the nest
9. glass for the windows of the chicken house
10. plastic for other windows
11. new silverado truck to haul feed
12. wellies to walk in the chicken yard
13. bedding for the chicken house - cleaned once a month
14. gloves for winter time
15. hat for winter time
16. electric cord from the house
17. heater for the winter
18. two water jugs to carry water for the winter
19. hose for summer water
20. more fencing to make a bigger yard
21. latches for doors

family together

2008-10-21T11:05:00.002-06:00

maurine

2008-10-21T09:45:00.002-06:00

the memorial service for my great aunt maurine was early sabbath morning...9:30. the graveyard was once attached to a luthern church, but because of some split in the church, the church moved and many of the original persons buried in this grave yard were moved to the new church. all that remains are a few graves scattered through the yard. the memorial service also included a service for maurine's sister in law. the land was originally donated by her sister in law's grandparents or great grandparents. the land is located just outside valley springs, south dakota. maurine and oscar once had a farm nearby and their sons, marsden and richard with his wife shirley are buried there also. maurine lived to 104.

it was a lovely setting even though a little chilly and misty.

road trip across south dakota

2008-10-19T20:37:00.005-06:00

last weekend my sister and i loaded up berti and took off across the state of south dakota for our great aunt's funeral. just because, 1. sioux falls has really grown since we were kids 50 years agom(hedged on that a little), 2. we aren't as quick as we used to be, & 3. we don't have our laptop connected to bertie so we can google maps while driving; i bought a gps. we really didn't need to get it to go across the state, but it was extremely helpful in finding various locations within the city: hotel, grave site, church, and bookstore.

i named our gps sheila since she has a female voice and those of you who have a gps know that her favorite word is 'recalculating.' we didn't have time to read all the directions before going so we don't know all her tricks yet.

i was very careful driving to sioux falls. drove 65 most of the way. filled up with gas before starting and actually made it to our hotel without a refill. yeah! go bertie. did have to fill before running around the next day. i think using cruise from the very start was also helpful. my sister is not fond of cruise, but because i have a bone spur in my right foot, the p.a. suggested i use it. so i do. helps my foot! on the way back my sis read commentary from roadside geology of south dakota. all this time i thought all s.d. road engineers had some basic lack of understanding regarding bridge approaches. every one you cross seems to bump up and them bump down. turns out, according the geology book, that most of the roads in the state are build on pierre shale which expands after rains and snow. it also corrodes concrete and metal. somehow the expansion is uneven around bridges (more concrete in the supports) which causes the bridges to rise up or fall depending on the moisture in the shale...hence the bumpy approaches on bridges. many of the roads are not concrete but asphalt because of better stretchability.

anyway, i became so involved with looking at roadside geology sites i forgot to watch the gas tank. what with running around sioux falls after my fill up and going just a little bit faster going home, bertie ran out of gas about 10 miles from home. had to call a nephew to come and rescue us. so embarrassing. i cannot even remember the last time i ran out of gas.

one unexpected pleasure, besides visiting with all the relatives, was the gift of a loki zip up jacket. i was standing with just a sweater on in the mist and chill around the grave site and my cousin came up with one of his jackets and loaned it to me. i gave it back as i thought it was a loan, but it came back to me with a lecture about never driving around without being adequately prepared.....jacket and sleeping bag in the car. if you have never seen a loki product, check out lokiusa. my nephew designs and markets the clothing line.

he and my daughter must have some gene in common. she recently gave me the lecture about wearing seat belts; not just on trips but also around town. my sis and i have done better. it is almost like we can hear her voice every time we get into the car. i could not repeat exactly what she said, but she did make an impression. now we will also make sure to have something to keep us warm in the car also. i already have two fold up chairs, a small tool kit, a swiss army knife, flashlight, and i always carry my phone when i drive.

October snow

2008-10-10T18:07:00.002-06:00

it has just been two weeks since the lovely drive up spearfish canyon. this morning wet snow covered the yard and caused are little trees to bend to the ground. my sis was out in her slippers and jammies shaking snow off.

we had already planned to go to rapid and since the snow was not sticking to the roads we went. sis worked on her christmas shopping...i think she already has it 2/3 done. i am just starting to think about it. we both bought merrills (not the same style, although it was close) for our winter walking shoes and to use for our trip to london. once you have a pair on, your feet don't want you to take them off. they are the kind you can just slip on and off. i found a shawl wrap to take. i think it can work as a wrap and as a blanket on the plane. and you can crunch it up ....and it is very light weight.

i also bought a cozy robe since we try to keep the temperature down in the house. the other day i bought a pair of fleece jammies. so...now i have fleece jammies AND a fleece robe. that should keep me warm.

when we stopped on the way back for chicken duty we discovered the male mallard was gone. jay later found that the neighbor's dog got it. the chickens and the ducks where penned in, but, of course, the ducks started taking little flying trips outside. jay is going to try to find a male to replace him to keep the female company. she sounded so sad when we fed and watered.

sunday drive up spearfish canyon

2008-09-28T18:54:00.002-06:00

my sis and i were told....according to my sis...that we were going on a scenic drive up spearfish canyon this sunday to see the leaves. i am glad we went. the air in higher altitudes, with the water and the trees is so wonderful. aspen do not grow here as far as i can tell, but there were ash trees, birch trees, and some oak trees.

they had announced on the radio that this was the weekend to see the color so there were jillions of people with cameras and kids all up and down the canyon. the yellows are not quite as intense as the aspen in the rockies (as i remember them), but it made nice viewing and picture taking. there was a little park about halfway up the canyon with falls and walking trails. the little pond shown was attractive to children as it was home to several trout. don't know what kind, but they didn't seem to be rainbows.

the maple shaped leaves grew on a bush about 3 to 4 feet high and the leaves were the size of a dinner plate. have no idea what it is, but they were up and down the whole canyon.

multitude of meanings

2008-09-23T17:41:00.002-06:00

my sister (who is way smarter than I) thinks i am a snob...maybe i am; maybe not. no one forced me (in the seventh grade) to sit by myself in front of the tv on sunday afternoons to watch greek plays. no one forced me to like classical music or to read satre. or to take baby physics after college to get a small, tiny idea of how the universe worked. (i don't do math well).

for most of my life i have lived in a university town where there were a lot of people who liked to study, mostly not the the same things that i was interested in, but certainly there was intersection. there were people working on their phd who also worked as grocery clerks to help pay their way, not because they thought it was their end job.

hence, it is taking some adjustment living in a community where going to college is not the understood goal of most of the households. my sister and i knew we were going to college from a very early age--it just was in our house even though our dad did not graduate from college and my mom only had 2 or 3 years of college.

in this community the majority of households consider high school as the end goal; if you a girl the end goal mght be getting pregnant. Since education is not high on the list, my afternoon interludes with third and fourth graders is much different that my interaction with students in the college town even when taking into consideration the age difference. i use to teach seventh and eighth graders.

i had a new student today in my little group and he is even more distant from my life than the others. he came from the south and believes that if you are under twelve you can hunt with out a license plus he can hunt any animal. i also learned that he (his family, i suppose) believes that the government owns all the property.

i knew when i moved here i the only people with higher education would be the doctors, dentists, teachers, and lawyers and maybe a few others (game warden, banker), but for the most part the hightest level of education is high school. i really haven't tried to make friends outside of my family; but probably i should-- although the process is sure to frought with stress. i have to be careful in picking topics of conversation.

i truly belived GOD puts people in places. i don't know what my purpose is here. maybe it is his purpose for me to learn humility, graciousness, patience, and acceptance of others.

animals

2008-09-20T10:39:00.003-06:00

this week was animal fun week. our chickens started laying eggs....well, one did. you can just see her tail in the picture. she is buff with white in her tail. she is a red-sex link or red star. they supposedly lay about 300 eggs a year.

this thursday and friday, newell --the sheep capital of the west--(maybe, that is what the sign says when you enter town) hosted a show and sale. i convinced my sis to go with me to the prize ewe and ram sale. there were people and sheep from wyoming, south dakota, north dakota, and probably a few other places.

we passed a truck with this puppy. not at all friendly. i do believe he was a great pyrenees which were bred to guard sheep. the are very large, strong, and fierce and not suitable for a house pet. i have seen grown ones guarding sheep near the real center of the nation marker.

we couldn't get into the area where they were holding the sheep for sale. the picture shows only one of 3 double rows of pens. we really like the ram. i don't know what breed he is, but we liked his horns and his wrinkily nose.

dennis, the cat also added to our animal fun week by bringing in a tiny snake which scared my sis. it wasn't a common garden snake --- those have lenthwise stripes. it might have been a baby rattler! dennis followed me out as i threw it over the fence into the neighbors back yard. dennis is not very poplular right now.

there are also reports of a tagged mountain lion that comes into town during the evening. people are warned to keep their pets inside during the evening hours.

the new kid in the garage

2008-08-29T20:55:00.002-06:00

well, my sis bought a new truck without really checking to see if it would fit in the garage.
as you can see it just makes it. i told her she could not add on to the garage for her truck, nor could she cut little side openings for the mirrors to go through. it just barely makes it.

she tried to fold back mirrors, but didn't know the trick until she called her son. you can see there is not much room in the back and in the other picture you can see how much space there is from the front bumber to the step into the house.

bertie looks like a hobbit next to the new truck. i keep trying to tell her that she should name it thor, but i think she wants to think up her own name. it is big. half ton extended cab.

it really is nice. we took it up to the local variety store and bought some plants to put in the back to break in the bed of the truck.

but, it really won't be broken in until someone spills a drink inside.
she was babysitting her grandchildren today and when she took them out to taco john's for lunch, she made us all eat inside instead of in the truck. we will see how long that lasts.

center of the nation dedication

2008-08-29T20:20:00.003-06:00

i went to the dedication of the monument for the center of the nation. it was supposed to be televised by abc, but their cameraman got sick. ha i bet. he probably didn't want to come to a tiny town. well the flags look really nice and the cowboy band played. they are really good.

i stopped in at the little log cabin museum. i took a picture of the 'master bedroom' with it's loft. it is bigger than my bedroom. but i bet that it was really really hot in the summer time.

my sister and i had an attic bedroom in our jones street house in omaha. i remember that sometimes our folks would let us come downstairs and sleep on the living room floor because it was so hot upstairs. it was before air conditioning. the house had a strange layout. the kitchen and the bathroom had been added on. there was a dining room, living room and one bedroom downstairs. small by today's standards, but it worked. it was certainly a lot larger than the tiny log cabin with only a kitchen/sitting room and tiny office on the first floor.

horse pull at the fair west river style

2008-08-29T20:07:00.002-06:00

the paper listed events for the 2 weeks of the fair in rapid city. hidden among all the events i found a horse pull. when i called to confirm time, the ticket person, said, "What? We have a draft horse show?" but she found it. i was so excited because i used to go to the horse pull at the boulder county fair and the big pull at the end of the national western stock show.

well, it really wasn't a pull, it was a demonstration put on by a club. it consisted of 2 farm teams of draft horses, not the heavy weights you see at the nws, plus a team of mules and a team of shetland ponies (the old breed, not the jazzed up breed that looks like miniature hackneys).

the big teams shared the hookup, but the shetlands had their own. they were the best. the little dark chestnut really put all his muscle into it. you didn't need to ask him twice to go for it. the pulled the sled which was about a thousand pounds plus another hundred.

it was easy to see the other teams were really ambivalent about the whole thing. if it was a real contest the horses take off the minute they hear the joining of the metal.

so after sitting in the sun without my hat which i left in the car and without my sunglasses which i left at home, i went home. it was really hot.

homestake mine

2008-08-15T20:43:00.004-06:00

after the wagon train parade down the main streets of deadwood, my sis and i wondered around lead for a little bit. we stopped briefly at the homestake mine. you can see part of the pit mine from the highway. they have some of the old underground equipment on display at the homestake mine visitor center. you can see the engine is not very tall and there is not much room inside!

the underground part of the mine is now a science lab. check it out at http://sanfordlaboratoryathomestake.org/

Fort Pierre - Deadwood wagon train

2008-08-15T18:07:00.003-06:00

stealing supper

2008-08-15T17:58:00.003-06:00

most of the neighbors have been very good about putting in their lawn and trees, but the house kitty corner from our back deck is a rental. it is at least three years old and has not had grass put in. our block nazi had to get after the renters to mow the weed lawn. the renters moved out and the owners came back for a week and did some work.

part of the work was tilling under the weeds and had sewing lawn seed ontop of the new till. they watered it at least twice and then took off leaving the hose twirling around the lawn.

during the first part of the week we saw a "murder" of grackles gorging themselves on grass seed. do you suppose the owners thought the hose was going to water the grass by itself and keep the birds away. and what about all those weeds that were sort of plowed under.

porch update

2008-08-15T17:47:00.005-06:00

first picture is last year--i like the flowers and chairs on the walk. the next is this year's pictures after the stain and putting in edging around the roses. like the color better. our flowers were better last year. not sure why.

besides mowing the grass this week, my sis and i have been working on staining our porch and deck. we finished the front porch with its new brown color. it was red before even though we meant it to be brown from the start. the first stain did not turn out quite the color we thought it would. this color is spanish moss. our roses which are old type roses are blooming intermittently, so we always have some color and fragrance by the porch. the back deck isn't finished. rain and lack of energy. guess i will have to try and finish by myself....the top at least; because cyn is going to back to school meetings.

i am NOT going to do any work on a ladder though. i have a slight problem with dizziness and do not want to fall. meniere's disease.

fair at nisland --butte and lawrence county

2008-08-13T17:29:00.003-06:00

my sis and i went to the butte and lawrence county fair this morning. i was expecting lots of animals and exhibits because the boulder country fair was always stuffed with animals, people and machines. we were sadly disappointed. my sis says that when she lived here before there were tons of entries and people. it is not clear why a fair in the middle of cattle and sheep country has dwindled to almost nothing while the fair in the middle of suburbia has prospered.

we went today for the horse judging. one of our students at the after school program was showing a horse. it is the gray in the picture. the horse, jerry, used to be a roping horse, but the roper sold him because jerry was too lazy. but our student managed to get a purple ribbon anyway. it was the first time in the ring for jerry.

we also saw a tiny little girl with a curly coated pony. the pony was so calm and just followed her where ever she led it.

the fairgrounds are beautiful, too bad they are not being used except for the fair. they used to have horse races. the track is still there but overgrown with weeds. the grounds and buildings are set aside as a historical site. the octagonal building reminds me of the chautauqua building in boulder.

nisland post office

2008-08-13T17:19:00.003-06:00

last friday was the hundreth year for the writing of the take me out to the baseball game song. for some reason the nisland post office decided to have a little celebration. they had special post cards with the song, water and cookies and an old fashioned baseball game in the afternoon. my sis and i plus two of her grandchildren were the first customers. while we were there a lady in the yard had two tiny miniture Chihuahua puppies.

any children who visited got a box of authentic cracker jacks. i loved those as a kid, especially the silly little toys inside. cheap thrills.

you can see that nisland is pretty much a dead town. there are no stores, but they do have an american legion building, a fire department, a nice church, and great fair grounds.

cats and water

2008-08-13T17:13:00.003-06:00

cats claim they don't like water except to drink, but one day i found my sister's cat, cc, playing in my bathroom sink. sometimes she plays on the edge of the bathtub between the curtains during shower time. she is an elusive creature; sometimes i don't see her all day. my cat sam wakes me up at 5:30 or so for water, treats and to open the sliding door. cc and dennis also appear after i get up so they can go out and hunt. after a treat and a drink though, sam goes back to bed until noon when he pesters me for his noon treat.

rodeo

2008-07-06T15:00:00.003-06:00

we had really good seats for the belle rodeo...second row center. right across from the chutes. i thought i took four times as many pictures than appeared on my camera. even so i did get some good ones, but not any of the bull riding. which i thought i had taken tons of. guess i need to do some experimenting with my camera.

the bay mare with the star is Miss Congeniality, bucking horse of the year. she is a really big horse, probably has some clydsdale blood.

there was only one rider of the saddle broncs that made the time and no one made time on the bulls.

fourth parade

2008-07-06T14:27:00.005-06:00

the best part of a parade are the horses...for me. still, i like the belle parade because it has a little bit of everything---old and new cars, clowns, big trucks, tractors, horses, bands, kids, and fire trucks.

there were not so many big trucks this year, i suppose it was due to gas prices. also the cowboy band only went by twice instead of the usual three times...gas prices i guess. they march the first time, except for the old members who ride a flat truck tailor. they the whole band usually come by two more times on a flat bed. the band was also smaller. some members do not live in belle. my niece was talking to one from minnesota.

there were lots of teams of horse this year. they included Belgians, 3 teams of pintos, mules, and various small ponies. hopefully i will be able to drive one of the pinto teams in the near future. it is on my bucket list and my nephew has already arranged it with the owner. we just have to set a time.

several men were riding really big horses. one looked part Friesian, another one looked at least to be part Percheron.

deck steps finished

2008-07-02T09:26:00.002-06:00

my daughter and son-in-law were up early and were so quiet that i was upstairs being quiet so as not to wake them. they were downstairs working on the steps and patio pavers.

my daughter worked inch by inch with a level, shovel, rake, and fingers to lay the pavers which we decided would look nice in a random pattern. my sis and i plan to plant ground cover between the pavers. we have cats and sand does not stay nice when you have cats. ground cover will make the pavers transistion between the yard and the cement patio.

my son-in-law worked on the paver steps to transition the end of the wood steps into the lawn. there was quite a steep pitch between the flatter part of the yard and the end of the steps. he did a great job making the pavers flow from the higher part of the yard and the steps into the lower part of the yard. they are nice and wide and sturdy --- especially good for older persons like my sis and myself.

we had a bbq that evening and everyone sat around in the back yard after getting their food from the bbq on the deck. we could not have had such a large group without the steps down. we do not have enough room inside to have large groups in the winter. there were about twenty people all loosely related.

we bought tiki torches to keep the insects away, but have decided they do not do a very good job. maybe they have to burn awhile before the party or maybe we have to place them closer togeather. or...maybe we just use them for looks!

steps and patio progress

2008-06-30T18:37:00.002-06:00

the garden/back yard saga continues. my daughter and son-in-law arrived from california and my sis and i put them to work digging out a place to put patio pavers to extend the patio out to the pillars of the porch above.

fortunately because of all the rain, the soil was not too hard. hopefully the sand will serve as a collection point if necessary the next time we have a flood. hopefully there will not be next time for a flood while we are living here.

the hard part is figuring out how to put some steps at the bottom of the wood stairs from the deck. our yard does not have one level spot. through the use of wood and pavers, my son-in-law is putting in some nice wide gentle steps for us.

my daughter is working on the pvers which she is putting down in an artistic pattern. we will plant some small ground cover between the pavers. it will make that little strip of ground look like it belongs to both the patio and to the grass.

garden work inbetween the rain

2008-06-27T10:50:00.003-06:00

at last....we have stairs down from our deck; not in quite the configuration we envisioned, but we are glad to have them. we also now have a shelf to put chairs and hoses. and a place under the shelf to store the lawn mower during the winter. we put blocks around the tree and made a rock wall by the side of the house to stop dirt from washing away.

we still need to get some dirt to fill in behind the wall. my two nephews, my sis and i bought a truck for 500. an oldy for garden use. my sis and i put in 150 total. so now we can drive up behind the house and get some dirt for fill. also we can get our wheelbarrow back so we can haul some more rock for under the steps. we are only responsible for putting in gas when we use it.

we stained all the old church fold up chairs; some are brown and some purple. we are working on fixing the Adirondack chairs. we sanded and stained the swing and the sprayed the wicker chair. so we are almost ready for our summer barbecue. it is supposed to be a midsummer party, but with all the rain we are a little behind schedule.

the truck bags on the lower patio are left over from our attempt to prevent flood waters from coming in the patio. we are going to use the contents to make a sand bed to lay pavers on to extend the patio out as far as the rose bush that is growing on the old iron gate.

we recycle!!!!!

our fence is a recycled fence and the posts holding up the landing on the stairs are recycled fence posts! my sis's porch swing was bought for twenty dollars by her at yard sale. new ones cost 100. :) the church chairs were free and the wicker chair was bought used. sis made the Adirondacks, but they probably cost more than new because she and her husband bought a log saw and made the chairs from scratch. you do have to count the cost of the log cutter!!! the porch table made from cedar was a gift.

a little fun in the sun

2008-06-15T17:28:00.003-06:00

it was shiny sunday morning and my sis and i had to go to rapid city to buy more wall stones; so we decided to go early to the the local dressage show. there were about a dozen horses, but more riders. i am sure that when students learn dressage they share school horses.

we saw two beginner classes and one more advanced class. some classes only had one entry, but it is a good way for the rider to see where they are as they are given points.

the little buckskin to the left is half connemara pony and half thoroughbred. the rider had a very nice ride.

the black in the practice ring is a Hanoverian stallion. for the class the rider put on a top hat and tails for riders. very classy. the horse looked like he floated across the ring. i almost cried watching him move. the horse....not the rider. the rider moved very little.

the grey is an eighteen year old arabian and still frisky. in the practice ring he bucked a couple of times in protest to the rider's commands. he did okay in the ring except for pretending to be afraid of the judges stand right at the beginning of the ride.

more rain

2008-06-12T18:59:00.004-06:00

usually when the weather stations forcast rain...it doesn't. we have had rain for the last forever. the poor plants aren't getting enough sun to spurt into summer growth.

but the rain didn't stop the grackles from stealing all the food from our bird feeder. we have seen other birds intermittently; a blue jay, a pair of asian collared doves, a downy woodpecker and some finches. can't decide if they are rosy or house finches.

today we bought some nesting material (straw), floor covering (w00d chips), and some osyter shell for the chickens and ducks. they are quite tame because my youngest niece and nephew handle them. the ducks are a little wild.

they were all inside but one duck which the kids had to chase down and put inside so the coop could be closed for the night. the white chicken my sister is holding is thought to be a rooster. we will find out. he gets picked up quite often. you will notice that he has green legs. he or she is an aracauna (they are the easter egg chickens).

more water

2008-06-08T19:44:00.003-06:00

june rains

2008-06-05T09:07:00.003-06:00

it has been raining forever...well, almost. i just finished reading a trilogy about Noah's flood. we have a backyard flood because the builder didn't quite get the plan right. we are just at the edge of a flood plain, but the houses in the flood plane seem to be okay. the slope of the ground causes the water to puddle between four houses. the builder did put in a drain from the middle of the low ground ( it goes along the little cedar trees ) but the drain tube was obviously not big enough.

the fire ring in our yard in now a pool inside a pool. the last picture shows the view outside our basement door with the water creeping up towards our basement. we went to the plumbing supply and bought the last sump pump and some caulking. we thought we could caulk the doors closed. by the time we got back it had gone down some as the water dug a trench between the two houses so it had someplace to go.

i had been up since around 3 in the morning trying to train sam not to meow to get out. it was a water method....squirting water at him whenever he meowed. while i was up a looked out and notice that there was a pond out back with little waves. but the water was not yet visible in our back yard. by the time sis was up it was starting to show through our tall grass that we haven't been able to mow because it is always wet. she was on the phone right away talking about lawyers etc., if something didn't happen.

someone who turned out to be the owner of the building company showed up shortly and ordered a trencher to come in and dig a trench from the puddle pond to the street to let the water out. he left and it hasn't shown up as yet but a second man has appeared and has at least shoveled a little trench to let some more water out. he is standing in the rain in his poncho talking on the phone. the rivers and streams are up to the top of the banks and in some places over the banks. i hope the trencher makes it because we are scheduled for four more days of rain. we will have to hire sheep to mow the lawn if it doesn't all wash away.

the threat of water in the basement reminds me of the time there was water in the basement of the house of at cheyenne court in boulder. our house was lower than the one next door and during a down pour the water was high enough on the patio to run over the rims of the guards around the basement windows. i was left to deal with the problem myself (and was pregnant at the time). there wasn't much i could do but pick up what i could off the floor. fortunately there was not too much down there and the floor was tile. we finally had to get a sump pump to clear the 2 to 3 inches of water on the floor.

ps. from somewhere the builder's man found some sandbags to put up against our basement door! :)

lines

2008-05-27T10:30:00.002-06:00

God has all the lines
silky ribbons
strong cables
kite strings
guy wires
shoe lacings
railroad tracks
woolly yarn
basketball netting
laser tracings
package twine
an arrow's path
a map's pattern
the beaten path
the secret wanderings
heart beats
clothes lines
telephone wires
apron strings
fence wire
fishing line

all knit into a healing cradle
waiting for my collapse into his grace
how can i miss being caught in his love

-mll

noah weather

2008-05-24T09:08:00.003-06:00

friday was another rain day which was nice for our newly planted trees. when it wasn't raining pellets, it was solid mist. kind of put a stop to the yard improvement projects.

so since i had the urge to order things and i didn't want to work in the dark chilly garage or in the dark chilly basement, i worked on cupboards. one is the before and one the after thought it is really not all that clear which is which. i had everything out on the kitchen island, washed the shelves and did try to order things as they went back in.

now my sister can truly say, 'my sister changed everything around and i don't know where anything is.'

two old lady gardening

2008-05-20T20:16:00.003-06:00

you ask your sister to ask her son and his wife, her ex, and her neighbor to help .... you take pictures and she holds the water hose while they dig and plant.

bird and cat

2008-05-20T20:09:00.004-06:00

not much needs to be said. we bought a heated bird bath last winter for the birds. so far we have only seen one grackle use it ....and sam. we also have a bird feeder on the other corner of the deck. lots of birds come. the bird sitting on top is scolding sam on the deck. sam didn't pay any attention to what was being said. he was on his way to the house for a nap.

the egg story

2008-05-19T19:39:00.002-06:00

while i was away from home my sister bought chickens...baby chicks. her granddaughter bought two chicks and her grandson bought to ducklings. mallards. so last weekend her two sons loaded a little chicken house on a trailer and tooled ...well it was probably more like inched down the road to the far end of the property. they were on interstate part of the time---the scary part is the trailer was not licensed(probably the tail lights were not working) and the chicken house was to wide to be legal. no red flags either. but they made it. there are posts dug for the chicken yard. after they get used to their new home the chickens will probably be allowed to run free part of the time. there is a garden just to the right of the chicken house. the flock will help keep down the bugs, but i think they really like tomatoes also. they put up a water tank next to the chicken house. it is about two feet high and about six feet across. it has a chain link enclosure around it now and they take the ducks out to it for a swim. they are so excited to be in the water.

in the small half of the house a barn swallow built a nest using blue and silver ribbons. quite fancy. but since the house moved and she didn't, she will have to build a new nest.

our chickens are going to lay white, blue, brown, and green shelled eggs.

mishmash

2008-05-18T20:12:00.005-06:00

my nephew who is 40 something was over the other day and wound up playing with dennis. dennis must have been in a really good mood because he allowed himself to be dressed in a baby hat and one baby slipper.

he usually bites when people try do things like that.

i swear i turned that picture, and now i cannot seem to get it deleted. anyway we worked on the front lawn this sunday. it was worse than the sideways picture. this is after we added a rose bush and some columbine. the pictures are out of order... there is a picture after we put in the edging...as straight as two old ladies could do with rubber edging that had been in a curl for a year or maybe two. we put down newspapers then covered it with the mulch. both will dissolve into the soil. we will have to keep adding mulch of some kind.. i think there is a place in town where we can get some free. we ran out of mulch and ....i forgot ... we also put rock under the deck...we ran out of that also!.

we changed our snowflake for the winter welcome to a metal butterfly we found at pier 1. the rapid city journal today said that there are only two seasons in south dakota....winter and yard sale season. we decided that was about right. we are just going to have the two decors. flowers and butterfly for the yard sale season and the snowflake and fake pine trees (weighted with rocks) for the winter season.

we decided it was safe to plant the flower pots for the summer. we bought yellow pots at the end of last year's season for the porch. so now we are color coordinated. sort of. we are using white. yellow, and a touch of purple for the front porch. the deck is going to be restained a brown as are the adirondack chairs. the little fold up chairs might wind up lavendar and dark purple. we are doing red and orange in the back. we will have blues somewhere, just don't know where yet.

just to top things off the nursery called and said to come and pick up our bare root plants. we called my sis's sons to come and help dig the holes. actually both sons came and their sons...one just out of high school and the other in kindergarten. it was very nice the way they worked together to dig the holes. the older cousin is very patient with his young cousin.

all the cats had to come out and help us with our work. it was the first time out for cc. at least the first time she was allowed to be out and run around. her eyes were big as june bugs and her tail was continually twitching. she checked in with her master every once in awhile to make sure it was safe and consulted with dennis...about what i don't know; but they were talking.

mother's day

2008-05-11T19:33:00.003-06:00

my daughter bought me my mother's day gift when i was in california, a pair of capri's. they are tan and have little strings and ties and pockets which i really like. she made me feel still wanted--she called and asked for advice about curtains on mother's day.

neal called me on mother's day and bought me a itsy bitsy jump drive when i was in california. i hadn't been to fry's electronics before so we had to visit the store. they don't have them in this part of the country.

my sis was invited to her middle son's for barbecue on sunday. she was a little worried because she hadn't heard from the youngest or the oldest son. but they came through. the youngest one was at the barbecue and the older one called from maryland.

the younger ones played horse after lunch. bordy was the youngest but he held his own. there were no real basketballs involved!

at about five the baby chicks and ducks were checked out and then everyone migrated to our house to help my sis put her new grill together. she forgot to read the whole instruction for each step...ie.. the part about star washers... so after about 10 steps her son had to go back and add the washers. but with everyone's help it was put together and initiated with hot dogs, hamburgers, fake hot dogs and veggie patties. it was a good thing there was some salad and cut veggies in the refridgerator! everyone had their fill. it was really the first time we could set out on the porch in the dark and be comfortable. it would be nice if the porch was bigger, but i am glad that we have a porch and plenty of chairs.

snow again

2008-05-11T19:21:00.002-06:00

woke up sabbath morning to a complete opposite of last week's sabbath. snow! again!

last week i experienced three different kinds of meetings. friday night i went to the college vespers which was very spirited. there was a small choir of kids, a pianist, four song leaders, one guitar, one bass, two trumpets, three violins, and one sax. they sang for quite a while. then the youth pastor gave a short homily that involved a wii demonstration regarding what was real and what wasn't very good.

sabbath morning we went to a liturgical service that the church has been doing for at least 15 years. it was quiet and meditative. loved the pipe organ. the worshipers were able to participate through group reading and hymns.

then the sabbath school was taught by an elderly man who was really good. the class was mostly older people except for my daughter and son-in-law. it was very thoughtful and open. it was a wonderful worship weekend for me since i belong to a very tiny church.

california trip - last day

2008-05-07T19:28:00.002-06:00

i spent my last day in california with my son and his wife. we went to fry's electronics and poked around for awhile. i found some really small in size jump/thumb/usb drives. my son bought one for me and i bought one for my sister.

we decided we needed to go to ikea where we found some desks that did not take up a lot of space but had space for stuff. ikea is very good at designing for small spaces. i wish there was a store like that around here! fat chance! installing the desks meant taking down the the old ones which resulted in a pile of cords. they are little house snakes slithering around. the desks had a little nook where most of the extra cordage could be hidden.

we probably should have stayed home. my son was up all night the night before recovering data from a crashed server.

it all came to an end much too quickly, but i was glad to be back home in my own room with my books, my cats. glad to be back home with my sister, too! --she has her own room and books and cat.!!!!

california trip - next to last day

2008-05-07T14:18:00.004-06:00

one afternoon my daughter and her husband took me to the wild animal park. my camera batteries were almost dead, but my son-in-law managed to coax out another 128 pictures. lots of turning on and off! too many pictures for a blog, so i just picked a few of my favorites.

the bonsai forest was my favorite of the bonsai exhibition. there was also an ephyphyte exhibition which at first did not look all that interesting, but a closer look revealed many beautiful flowers. the colors ranged from white through dark red. no blues or purples.

we managed to catch the condor spreading his wings. i don't know if he was cooling off or just dreaming of floating over the hills on an updraft.

several places in the park had fans blowing mists of water down on the hikers. you did not actually have to walk through the sheet of mist, but it did feel really nice. it was fine enough that it cooled without drenching you.
it was a rather warm day for someone who just came from snow country, so frequent rest stops with a few snacks thrown in made the day enjoyable.

i especially liked the birds at the end of the day--flamingos, assorted ducks and geese, and a kingfisher up close (and african birds in a separte cage).

california trip - checking out how things are

2008-05-02T11:29:00.003-06:00

the sod that was put in almost two weeks ago in the front (replaced pretty much dirt) is doing fine. the replacement goes as far as the tree. since this community enforces its covenants, residents who do not take care of their lawn get fined 50 dollars the first week for unkempt lawns, 75 the next, etc. the picture of dirt is where my son-in-law's mother dug out the thistle stumps. so far it looks like they might not come back. but it reallly hasn't rained that much. the other picture of little green things are the stumps of the other thistles growing back new leaves and some are even blossoming. i guess they were quite high when the kids moved in. had to lower the front of the lawnmower over the weeds to even begin to cut them down.

other pictures show the chocolate walls in the upstairs bedroom. the chocolate wall is the wall that was formerly covered by stripes. if a child happened to live in that room and if that child was a girl, and if that child happened to want pink--they could have pink accessories. pink and brown is very sophisticated. but no more pink walls. probably.

the chocolate wall still needs to be edged! it really does remind one of chocolate.

california trip - closing in on the finish

2008-05-01T18:52:00.006-06:00

the house was built in 2002, but as you can see the door has faded badly in that time. the door with the dark, dark green on top and the dusty blue-green on the bottom was the color before my daughter put on one coat of spruce green.

you would think that paint would last a little longer, but maybe the hot california sun takes it's toll and maybe green is a hard color to make colorfast.

california trip - one down and two to go

2008-04-30T14:41:00.003-06:00

the main guest room fianlly has all its paint. (except for the fan blades which are pastel--they will have to be taken off and spray painted.) i will try later this evening to take pictures. the light coming through the curtains somehow altered the colors on the wall. three walls are a sahara sand color and the wall behind the curtain is a coppery brown/red--but not brown as it looks in one picture. the colors of the drapes go with the coppery wall, the soft gray/green of the duvet, and the sahara sand of the other walls.

this is the first time i have seen drapes with adjustable hem. it comes unhemmed, you measure then press a crease, insert iron on seam tape and iron again. it also came with gathering tapes in the top, making it possible to pull the curtains to the width you desire. plus they are lined. very nice all in all. now i just need to put the rod back up in the other bedroom and put up those curtains. the downstairs bedroom does not have a curtain rod. more austere! but it does have a comfy chair.

california trip - losing track of time

2008-04-28T20:38:00.005-06:00

well, it finally happened...i was thrown out of my room. pillows, etc., on the couch, chair on the bed, suitcases somewhere. really not that bad... i had to move so they could paint the downstairs bedroom/office. the walls were really scuffed.

spent the morning edging next to the ceiling which is always difficult because the ceiling is pebbly and the walls are pebbly. but the walls look really nice when they are painted.

i was able to spend some time on campus which is really nice. one of the trees has really weird twisted branches. you will notice that one of them is held up by a metal brace. one of the trees has so many branches coming out of the trunk, it looks like a giant stalk of broccoli.

i visited with my son for a while at his place of work. lots of servers, of course. later i went to a lecture with my daughter. it was presented by a man who edits a magazine in lebanon. it was very revealing.

when we returned to my daughter's house we discovered that it had been invaded big time by spring ants. my son-in-law had gone off to the hardware store for ant traps. he had vacuumed up most of them. they had found the kitty food so the cat would not eat or drink the food. had to get new dishes and new food and water out. poor kitty.

california trip day 8

2008-04-27T10:46:00.003-06:00

i spent sabbath with my son and his wife. they live in a gated community also. this is a picture of the apartment they rent. in case you can't tell which one is their's -- it is the one on the lower left with the satellite dish setting in front of the apartment door. they cannot attach anything to the outside of the building, nor can they attach anything to the walls inside.

you will notice, however, that the little sand lizards pay no heed to the instructions. there were several attached to the outside wall, but only one stayed in one place long enough for me to get a picture. if you get too close they scurry away in a blink.

there is a nice pool on the grounds and nice landscaping. there is also a cute little red mini that lives at the end of their street. notice the license plate.

we spent the day pretty much waiting for fedex to deliver a package that they promised to deliver. turns out they lied. they don't deliver on the weekend. but that was okay with me; it was a nice relaxing day.

california trip day 7 room progress

2008-04-25T18:17:00.002-06:00

the room is coming along nicely. first a coat of primer which maybe we should have tinted, but it worked out okay. the ceilings are so tall that you have to stand on a regular ladder and not just the kitchen step stool to get to the ceiling for edging. standing i can get within a foot of the ceiling with a roller that has a short extension.

one room is done except for the accent wall which will be chocolate. (chocolate curl!) since the paint is flat, not semi-gloss or eggshell, it looks beautiful. just will have to be careful. i had a time getting the paint stirred. i had to wait until my daughter got home to get the drill to accept the paint stirrer. i didn't want to break it. not mine! it was supposed to have been shaken at the store, but they were really busy so i think they just did it the shortest time possible. if it is really shaken right it doesn't separate after a few days.

the other big problem in the room is the fan. i am sure the blades will come off. there is another fan just like it in the other room. ideally they should be able to take the blades off and then spray paint them.

california trip - family

2008-04-24T10:06:00.002-06:00

one thing very nice about this trip is that i get to see both my son and wife and my daughter and husband. before this year i had to go southwest to see my daughter and east to see my son. although both places were interesting-- the place east had an old men's coffee shop--it is nice to have both children in the same place. both of the families live in gated communities. it must be the thing out here. both of my kids are working at la sierra. my daughter is close enough to walk, but my son has to drive, but not to far, which is good. gas prices and all. surprisingly, both families only have one car. they live a short distance from each other so shop for basics at the same shopping area. the walmart is fairly large but not a super walmart. it is the first one i have been inside of that doesn't have the same layout as all the other ones i have been in. usually, once you are inside, you could be in any city--there being no clue to the local area. you could be teleported from store to store and never know where you were except inside a walmart.

california trip day 3-6 the ROOMS!

2008-04-24T09:51:00.002-06:00

the reason i was flown out to california was to change these two rooms. one was pink with these bright stripes on the wall and the other was lavender with butterflies painted on all four walls. my daughter is not a frilly fussy sort of person, so pink and lavender with butterflies do not fit into her decorating vocabulary.

the walls have to be primed and then painted. the one with stripes has to be sanded because where the stripes change color there are little ridges in some places. so, a word to the wise, if you like stripes but think you might like to change them later, be prepared for some work. so far all the wall plugs are off, the trim is taped, plastic is on the floor, nails removed and patched, and primer is on half of one room. i managed to figure out how to get the blinds off the window so it will be easier to paint the window surround.

the wall will be painted a warm adobe sand color. one room will have an accent wall of brick-rust-copper color and the other room will have an accent wall of chocolate.