Goodbye 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR
The year is closed, the record made, the last deed
done, the last word said, the memory alone remains
of all its joys, its griefs, its gains.

And now with purpose full and clear, we turn to
meet another year.


By Robert Browning

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve 2009 Christmas Eve at the Olsons 2009.

Christmas Eve 2008

Just in case you have forgotten I thought I would refresh your memory about Christmas Eve last year and this year.

Now another year is almost behind us. It was so nice for me to see grandchildren and great grandchildren. Everyone is gone now except Jennie, Mike, and Sophie. They will be flying back to Utah today.

Debbie got me a "Happy Light". I have looked at them off and on over the years. The light therapy is supposed to help with "winter blues" and positively affect sleep patterns and raise your energy levels.

I have been sitting next to it for about a half hour now. It is interesting. It is not anything like a regular lamp and yet I can read better with it than a regular lamp. It is hard to describe. It does feel like you are sitting in the sun. I know this may sound strange but it does have a calming effect.

Thanks Debbie. Since you have to live with my many moods, maybe this will really help.

Also, yesterday we went to see The Rockettes show in downtown Seattle. Thanks to Scott, Debbie got free tickets. Mike, Jennie, Diane, Kent, Debbie, Erik and I all went. I enjoyed it so much even though I was still doing some coughing from my Broncitis. Afterward we all went to a Mexican Place for lunch. We had a nice time. I am happy that I can still get around as good as I do. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Disneyworld

I know I have not written for awhile. Debbie, Donna and I spent a week in Disneyworld. We had some lucky breaks along the way. First the weather was just absolutely great from Saturday through Wednesday it was in the 80's. On Thursday it was cloudy and rained a little and the same on Friday but still the temperatures were around 70. Then second, when Debbie made our hotel reservations, she asked for a handicapped room so that I could have a walk-in shower. When we got to the hotel, the handicapped room only had one king size bed. Three of us were not going to sleep in one bed. Anyway, the hotel was very accommadating and gave us adjoining rooms. I had the handicapped room with the king-size bed all to myself and the adjoining room had two queen size beds. We got two rooms for the price of one. Then the third lucky thing was that I didn't get sick until we were on the way home. I had been coughing some but I got very sick when we were coming back on the plane. It was a six hour flight and Donna coughed from her Asthma and I coughed from Broncitis. I am sure all the passengers wished they had masks.
We didn't get home until very late on Friday. Debbie took me to Group Health on Saturday. I got some antibiotics and some cough syrup. I have been coughing and feeling terrible ever since we got home but today finally I am feeling much better. Now Christmas is almost here and I know Debbie is busy making preparations. Also, we have been blessed to have Jennie and Sophie visiting. Mike will be joining us late Wednesday night. I will hopefully write more tomorrow.

So long cold weather---for awhile

I thought this picture looked like a Florida picture. Tomorrow is the day. It doesn't seem real yet that we are really going to Disneyworld. I am sure when I wake up early and hit the cold air it will seem more real.

When we get to Disneyworld, we should be warm the whole week. I checked the temperature for Disneyworld a few minutes ago. I will give you the forecast for the days we will be there.

It is only going to be 68 degrees Friday and we will not be arriving until evening. Then the forecast gets really good.
Saturday, Dec. 12th 81 degrees
Sunday, Dec. 13th 82
Monday, Dec. 14th 85
Tuesday, Dec. 15th 86
Wednesday, Dec. 16th 77
Thursday, Dec. 17th 76
Friday, Dec. 18th 73

With temperatures like those, we may never come back.

Am I making you jealous yet? We will take pictures of us basking in the sun. Bye for now.

Warm sunshine----here we come!

I cannot believe it is almost time for our trip. We will be leaving Friday morning, December 11th to fly to Orlando and spend a week at Disneyworld. I have never been there so this will be another new adventure for me. Donna, Debbie and I are going. Debbie is very ready to go. She has been in Detroit for almost a week and it is cold there. Debbie will be home Wednesday, the ninth, and will have just one day before we leave. Donna is coming over on Thursday evening and Laif will be taking us to the airport Friday morning.

In the meantime, I am dealing with the cold weather here. There isn't a lot to complain about. It is very cold but it is sunny and no ice on the streets. Erik and I went to Safeway this afternoon so he could help me with my bags.

I have been mostly hibernating in my room. I keep the door closed and I am very comfy. I have been using the exercise equipment but my legs still feel a little stiff. I wear sweaters over my tops usually from November to May. I was counting my sweaters today. I have 14 sweaters and 3 sweater sets. I can't think of a good reason that I should have that many. I just keep accumulating them. Some are old, some are new. I can't seem to get rid of the old ones when I get new ones.

Winter is coming--or--is it already here?

I took these pictures early this morning. The sky was so clear and cold with the moon shining down on the cold earth. I don't know if you can tell very well about the picture with the cars. The whole driveway looked like a skating arena. Apparently it is going to get colder yet for a few days.

Friday was an interesting day. First of all when Erik started to school, he got a flat tire. Fortunately he was able to get into the library parking lot so walked home and used his mom's car to go to school. After school he changed the tire and got the car home. Erik is turning into a very capable young man.

Donna and Laif came over late Friday afternoon so we could go to the Victorian Christmas in Puyallup. It was nice to look at all the booths and the Christmas decorations. Donna finally bought the iron she has been wanting for a long time. We met Kyle at Best Buy because Laif is thinking about getting a computer. We then went to Taco Delmar for a light dinner. On the way to the Victorian Country Christmas, Donna and I were working on our list of items we need to take to our trip to Disneyworld. It was really nice of Donna and Laif to take me to Puyallup last night. I started coughing a lot last night for some unknown reason. Today I seem to be OK. My theory is that I am allergic to winter.

Trip to Lake Stevens

I am in a better mood today. The note on my blog from Rachel and the phone calls from Michael and Donna really cheered me up. I enjoyed the sunshine today. I always feel better on sunny days. I got a Pedicure today too. I don't know for sure how that works but it always makes me feel better.



David took us to Lake Stevens the day after Thanksgiving so that I could visit my sister, Elsie. I had not seen her for a long time. We were both so happy to see each other. Elsie is my only sister. She is 80. Our mother and dad only had us two girls. Elsie has 5 children and I have 7. Elsie did have a baby boy that only lived a few minutes. Elsie lives in a very nice Assisted Living Center in Lake Stevens called Ashley Pointe. She seems very happy there. Elsie has a studio apt. but it is roomy enough for one person. She has her meals in the dining room.

Elsie's room has a microwave, refrigerator and sink. On the right is her bed and racks of yarn.

Elsie has a brand new laptop but has never used it. Elsie has never used any computer. Karl, my nephew, is trying to explain to her how to use it.
Ashley Pointe does not give computer lessons.

Above are the finger puppets. Elsie has been making them by the hundreds for years. Elsie said that she sold enough puppets this year to pay two months rent. Her rent is $2500. a month so that is very good. She mainly sells them at craft shows and her kids help her set up.

I hope Elsie will work with her computer and at least e-mail. Karl helped her set up her e-mail account. She does have internet--Net Zero, which is dial up. Karl explained how she can use the Wi-Fi at the library.

Another picture of her room. She has more animals on her bed than I do. Should I be jealous?

Elsie in her easy chair. Behind her easy chair is her bathroom. Elsie uses her cane for getting around in her room. The rest of the time she has to use her walker. Elsie has Osteoporosis. She is bent over much more than the last time I saw her. Elsie has a drawer with a lot of medicines. She has a chart that she keeps track of everything. Elsie was a registered nurse when she was younger. She was a nurse when the nurses wore the white caps and uniforms. Elsie says she takes 5 different kinds of medicine for her high blood pressure.

When I was pregnant with Diane, my dad and mom bought a shoe repair shop with living quarters in Stanwood. I went up there a couple of times to visit. My dad not only repaired shoes, he actually made shoes and boots. My mother said he made all our baby shoes. When they lived in Helena, Montana he made boots for the Governor and others in the Capitol. He even made boots for the Cooper family who had a large ranch there. He knew Gary Cooper when he was a boy. My parents only lived in Stanwood a couple of years. The last year the shop flooded. Not so bad they couldn't live in but there was a lot of water damage. The story I didn't know was the one Elsie told me when we saw her after Thanksgiving. My dad had made a pet of a field mouse and every day he fed the mouse cheese and raisins. The mouse got so friendly that my dad was able to teach him to beg for the food. The year it flooded the mouse disappeared. Also my mother was storing some books for my sister and they were water damaged. After they sold the shop, they moved back to Everett and built the house that you older kids remember with the steep front yard that you used to roll down.

This is a picture of my neice, Susan, and another picture of Karl.

Thanksgiving Day

Just a few pictures I took at Thanksgiving. Hazel really attached herself to David. I love the picture of Noah. Donna looks very happy entertaining for Thanksgiving and the boys at the table are really enjoying themselves.

Families are wonderful. I did enjoy myself very much.

Today I am in a strange mood. I have been trying not to cry all morning. It can't be menopause. I don't know whether it is the letdown from Thanksgiving or David going back to Alaska or whether I am feeling sad about Christmas. Christmas is hard.

I really do have nothing to feel sad about. All my children are alive and well. We make our own happiness. I also having been thinking this morning of the 4 police officers that were killed and what a hard time it will be for their families this Holiday season.

I just was in such a sad mood all morning that I thought if I sat down and wrote out some of my thoughts I would feel better and I think I do. I did get my laundry done and the kitchen cleaned up this morning so that helped a little. I don't know how the top of the stove gets so dirty and I cleaned the Microwave too. I am not complaining, I love working in the kitchen.

I am so glad that Debbie and Kent took me to the play Erik was in at the Green River Community College. It was a great play and Erik played his part so well.

Tomorrow I will try to be in a better mood and put some pictures of my sister on and tell you a story about my dad I didn't know.

Catching up with blogging

When we were driving through Port Townsend, I took this picture. There are so many beautiful homes in Port Townsend.

Beautiful sunrise from the Donna and laif's deck in Sequim. Steven and I were both out early taking pictures of the spectacular view. I notice I have not written anything on my blog since the 17th. I have been busy gadding around with David in my car. Debbie picked David up on the 20th after his meetings. Saturday, the 21st , my chaffeur, David,drove us to Graham to see Dan and Heidi. Sunday we went to Tacoma to see Darrell. Richard came to our house a couple of times after work to see David. Monday morning we took off for Sequim. We went to see a couple of David's friends that live in Port Townsend. We also got a chance to see Marge Otte on Wednesday. We just had a nice time driving around. I had my GPS in my car, which was very helpful finding places we wanted to go to. I just love riding around in the car. It is a lot more fun when someone else is driving.

I will put some more on my blog tomorrow.

Visitor from the North Country

Picture I took of David when I was in Ketchikan last May. My oldest son, David, came in from Ketchikan, Alaska last night. Debbie and I went to Sea-Tac Airport to pick him up. We went to the Southcenter Mall to eat. David had not seen southcenter (Westfield) since it was remodeled. We took him to the hotel he is staying at. He is on a business trip and has meetings Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We will pick him up Thursday evening and he will be staying with us until after Thanksgiving. We will be going to Donna and Laif's for Thanksgiving. It so nice that David can spend a few days with us.

The weather was absolutely horrible last night. Heavy rain, wind and terrible traffic. I did not worry. Debbie is a very good driver.

Avery's First Birthday

The Birthday Girl. Avery is so cute walking around. Avery opening presents with Tyler's help.

Everyone watching Avery with her cake.

Nice picture of Daryl and Grandma Diane holding Avery and the nice kitty watching everything.

Yesterday was Avery's First birthday and I was lucky to be invited. To start with it was an absolutely beautiful day with lots of sunshine. Diane picked me in the morning. We went shopping and had lunch. Then we went to Daryl and Rachel's house so Diane could help Daryl with the project he is working on. Rachel had made a cute little Chocolate cake for Avery. I am sure you will see pictures of that on their blog. Rachel took me to Federal Way so that she could buy cupcakes for the "grown-ups". She went to the Cold Stone Creamery to buy them. I had never had any of those Icecream cupcakes before. They were just so yummy. Diane brought me home about 7:30 pm. She came in for a few minutes because she hadn't been over to see Debbie's new kitchen yet. Debbie has been gone all week for her work.

Anyway, I had a great day. I have not had a chance to spend a day with Diane for a long time.

Veteran's Day

I happened to wake up early enough on Monday to take a picture of this Sunrise from the front porch. About an hour later it was pouring rain. Today we honor all the Veterans and Servicemen everywhere that do so much for us and have done so much for us to keep our country free so that we can enjoy this wonderful country we live in.

A couple more stories---One more story about electrical outlets. Donna reminded me of it. We were living in Buckley and I was having a Birthday party, probably for David. Donna wasn't getting to participate in a game they were playing. She remembers being bored and she had some scissors and stuck them in the outlet. The lights all went out. In that house we had fuses. A lot of things would be on one fuse and it wouldn't take much to overload and cause a power interruption even without sticking scissors in the outlet. Another child testing electricity.
Donna is lucky that she only got a shock.

The other story is a Richard story again. When we lived in Bonney Lake we had a large field next to us. There was a hill that the kids used to run up and down on. Your dad had made a rope line that you could swing down the hill on and then pull yourselves back up. Also he had this barrel that he filled with water to test his boat engines. He finally let you kids use this barrel to roll down the hill in. The rule was that you had to be completely inside so you wouldn't hit your head on anything. Richard being one that was never really good about following rules, went down the hill with his head sticking out. He remembers it and I am sure it really scared him. It was a miracle he didn't get a serious head injury. I cannot believe that your dad and I were a party to such a dangerous activity. Somewhere a guardian angel was working overtime to watch you kids.

Another story

Ketchikan, Alaska---land of mountains, water and boats. It was fun to walk on this street above the water.

Since Jennie wanted some stories about her Mom---Here is one. I didn't even know this one until Richard told me. With Debbie's input, we got the story straight. Richard and Debbie were in Ketchikan with their dad. Richard had a quarter and Debbie bet he couldn't throw it in her mouth. She opened her mouth wide and Richard did throw it in, but unfortunately Debbie swallowed the quarter. Debbie said Richard was really mad because that was his bus money.

Back to Buckley--Our house in Buckley had an oil heater in the front room to heat the whole house. About the only rooms that got warm were the front room and the kitchen. The heater was leaking oil. There were some live wires behind the heater that should have been capped off. I didn't know that until later. Debbie was quite small at the time. She crawled behind the heater and touched those two wires together. There was a big spark and the oil caught fire and started melting the plastic drapes on our window. Richard pulled Debbie away from the heater and I got the kids out of the house. Just Richard, Debbie and Darrell were home. I took the kids to the neighbor's and we called the fire department because I didn't know how bad it might be. The only damage was melted drapes. The fire department and the Buckley News reporter arrived about the same time. Debbie had a small burn on her arm. The news reporter smudged it around a little so it would look bigger in the picture and of course Richard was the hero who saved his baby sister. We had that news clipping for a long time. I don't know what happened to it.

Following the News

A street of beautiful Fall Colors.

I try to keep up with the news but some days it gets so depressing. Again today another shooting. Richard sent me an e-mail about the fire at the Middle school in Bellingham.

Richard says "I have been listening to the news all day about a middle school that burned in Bellingham. I wasn't really listening that close. Then tonight I heard them say that the school that burned was 106 years old. It is the school that I went to when we were in Bellingham. I wasn't thinking that it could be the same school in the first reports it didn't give it's age. I thought it was so funny that the new section was built the year that dad was born, 1917. The first part was built in 1903. When you went to the basement it was like going into a dungeon. It was all brick and the doorways were all arched. There were no windows down there. That is where we ate lunch. Some of the doors were made of steel bars. There were two floors and the basement. It was kind of a cool school. Everyone thought that Enumclaw Jr. High was old. This one was older. Dad was building on the Fairhome College in Bellingham."

I know that would be the school that Clayton went to because he grew up in Bellingham.

It certainly was a good thing that no one was hurt in the fire. All those fires in the Greenwood Area in Seattle were very bad for all those people too. Those were arson. My mind can't comprehend people who set fires.

As long as my mind is on sad things, I will finish the story about our nice pussy cat that we had in Buckley. The one Richard pushed out the window. We moved to Bonney Lake and took her with us. Your dad used to go to Westport every year with friends and catch Salmon. He always managed to bring Salmon home. I did all that hard work of canning Salmon but it did taste good in the winter. Now you are wondering what this has to do with the cat. Your dad always buried the leftover Salmon parts in the yard. Weeks later our cat who was pregnant again dug up the Salmon and ate some of it. She got poisoned on it and was very sick. I thought she was probably going to die, but she didn't. She lived and had her kittens and they were all deformed. Some only had eye sockets and no eyes. It was just so sad. Don't ask about the kittens. I just as well push on and finish the sad tale of our cat. I wanted to say, first, that she did get pregnant again. ( never saw a male cat but there must have been one somewhere). This time she had a healthy litter of kittens. So her life was going along fine but I guess she was born under the wrong star because fate was going to strike again. In our house we only had sub-flooring. There was this one loose board near the heater and there was quite a gap around it. We woke up one morning to find our nice kitty had been hung by the loose board. She would have been coming up from our dugout basement and got her neck caught in the opening by the floorboard. We cried a lot. We did have a nice funeral for her.

On to happier things. I am so thankful that I am in good health. I am thankful for all my wonderful family. I am thankful that I have a nice warm, comfortable place to be in. I had to call T-Mobile so we could get help for Richard to change his "Fives" on his phone. When I got through talking to the representative, she thanked me for being a loyal customer of T-Mobile. I joined T-Mobile in 1999 when it was called Voice-Stream. What a wonderful age with live in. Cell phones, computers, fancy TV's. All sorts of great things to make life easy and fun.

Pictures of Fall that I took on my walk today

Today was another beautiful Fall day. I hope you got out and enjoyed it. The air felt just like a mild Summer day. Debbie kept telling me to cross the street and walk on the streets by the Golf Course. It is really nice walking. It is so easy to keep walking that I have to watch that I don't go too far. I walked 50 minutes without sitting down once. I had also exercised today. I could really feel it in my legs when I got back. I did enjoy it so much I will walk there more often. I started to turn up the first street on the left but just a few feet up a man was cursing at his pickup and threw a tire in the street so I just kept walking straight. I did not want to embarass him. He didn't look like he was having a good day. I was able to get my walker up and down the stairs fairly easy by pulling it backward. I never walk outside without it. I don't need to fall.

Richard is starting to e-mail me about stories I should tell. Somehow more of the stories seem to involve Richard. We had one bedroom downstairs in Buckley and the other bedrooms were upstairs. I had bunk beds in the downstairs bedroom. There was a light fixture that hung over the bunk beds. I don't remember why there was no bulb in it. It may have burned out and we didn't get a new one in yet. Richard must have been about 4 or 5 because he remembers it. Richard stuck his finger in the socket and flopped on the bed crying. Diane was sitting on the bunk bed with him and she stuck her finger in the socket and she flopped on the bed crying. It is hard to believe that two apparently intelligent children would do that.

Richard reminded me about what he did to the cat. We had this real nice gray striped cat. Richard loved cats and was always picking the cat up and carrying her places. The cat was pregnant. Richard had her upstairs. It was Summertime and I had the bedroom window open. For some unknown reason, Richard decided to push the cat out the window. I was downstairs and I saw the cat sailing through the air and land in the flower bed. At the same time, I heard Richard upstairs screaming. The cat in her attempt not to go out the window had badly scratched his arm. The cat went on to have a healthy litter of kittens. The cat did have an unfortunate death after we moved to Bonney Lake. I will tell about that later.

The only story I can think about Debbie today is how she held everybody up when we wanted to go somewhere. She could never remember where she put her shoes and everyone had to run around and find them. She hated wearing shoes. Debbie would never look for her shoes herself she would just sit and cry and all of us had to do the hunting. Was that early training for her job of supervising others? Debbie still takes her shoes off a lot but at least now she knows where they are.

A trip to the Moon?

I love this picture of Erik, Debbie and Kent. They were all working on putting the exercise equipment together. Jennie has been enjoying my stories on my blog and she wants me to put some stories on about her her mom. I will have to put my thinking cap on for that. I did think of one story I can share.

I know some of you have heard this. We went to the World's Fair in Seattle in 1962. Debbie was 4 years old at that time. Part of the Science Exhibit was the Spacearium. The Spacearium held up to 750 people at a time for a simulated voyage first through the Solar System and then through the Milky Way Galaxy. The show felt so real. It was just like you were up there in the stars. Debbie saw the Moon and she started screaming "I don't want to go to the Moon". Her dad had to take her out because she was so upset. We should have thought about it at the time. It must have been so tramatic for a small child. I am sure she was probably not the only one that got upset. I may have to enlist help from her sisters and Richard for more stories.

We certainly had a beautiful Fall Day again today.

Thoughts about when I lived in Buckley

Another Sunset that I took a while back. Richard wants me to write everyday but I can't do it everyday, Richard. I did have a couple of thoughts today. Last week Debbie bought a carton of eggs and somehow managed to break two of them and it reminded me of a story about Richard while we lived in Buckley. He probably doesn't remember it because he could only have been about 2 or 3. I am sure you have seen refrigerators that have a place on the door for you to put eggs. At the top of the door were twelve little indentations that held your eggs. I had a whole dozen eggs in the refrigerator. I got up one morning and I could hear one of the kids in the kitchen. I got downstairs as soon as I could just to be sure no one was doing anything they shouldn't. It was Richard and he had opened the refrigerator and was standing on a chair and when I got to the kitchen, he was dropping one egg at a time on the floor. I think there was only 3 or 4 left. What a mess there was to clean up. I don't know really why he did that. Just curiosity, I guess. Richard was always in some kind of trouble. He was so bright and always wanted to see how things worked. He loved to take things apart and many times got in trouble with his dad because of it. I think now that all that curiosity and all that taking things apart have served him well. Richard is very good at fixing things. And, after all, how can you fix things unless you see how they work, right?

Richard was one of the worst for climbing on chairs and countertops. He might remember this story because he was close to 4. It is so hard to try to keep track of kids every single minute and I really did try. Anyway, one day he had gone in the bathroom and climbed up and opened the medicine cabinet. He saw the X-Lax which was just a bar wrapped in aluminum foil where you just broke off one piece at a time. I will always remember this. Only one little square had been used. Richard came out of the bathroom and said he ate the candy bar. I was sure we did not have any candy in the bathroom so I asked him to show me where he got it and then I saw the wrapper from the X-Lax. He had eaten all of it. It scared me so bad. It was on the weekend so I called Rack's Drug Store. He laughed and said it was not going to harm him but I better get him in diapers. Richard was insulted about having to wear diapers but he needed them for about three days. He learned a lesson the hard way and for a long time he always checked with us about any candy.
My kids were all so bright and active, they really kept me on my toes. Sometimes you think your children are a lot of work when they are small but believe me it is the best of times when your children are young. For you that have little ones, enjoy them for they grow up too fast.

Debbie had Halloween decorations on the porch and inside too. Even though the lights were on last night, no one came. This place is a little out of the way. This is a large magnifying mirror. I have never seen one so large. Dual 1x-8x Magnification.

This mirror was a complete surprise. After Church Debbie and Kent and Erik surprised me. I wasn't here on my birthday so they surprised me with this great mirror. I just absolutely love it. I can see every wrinkle and bump I need to cover. Erik got me a real "cool" grandmother card and Debbie and Kent got me a card too. Then, of course, I had a birthday at Donna and Laif's too. Donna had given some earrings and I got a card from Donna and Laif. I can see real well where the holes are in my ears to put my earrings on. The mirror is lighted and it advertises that it is natural daylight. Donna's neighbor, Marge, brought me a card and a really rich small cake which I shared with Donna. I really have wonderful children and son-in-laws and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The neat thing is that I am still able to pretty well take care of myself and I still enjoy life. So I guess 82 isn't so bad after all.

While I was at Donna's we were looking at the newspaper where someone had taken a picture of a Black bear. Earlier I had written on my blog about the Black bear that was out by the clothesline in Bonney Lake and Donna reminded me that after we discovered that it was a bear we all went into the house. I had forgetten until Donna mentioned it how afraid Debbie was. She was crying and telling us to close all the windows and lock the doors. Maybe I read "Little Red Riding Hood" to her too much.

In Church again today the Bishop was talking about the seriousness of possible flooding in the Valley from the Green River because the Howard Hanson Dam needs work and may not be able to control the flooding. It may not happen this winter but it could happen another winter. Being prepared is the best thing you can do.

I was being held captive in a faraway town called Sequim

We had company this afternoon. Rachel, Daryl and darling little Avery in her Halloween costume. Mom and dad were in costume too. They were on their way to a party.

The house I spent all week during my "captivity". Donna and Laif have a very nice house with such a great view. Yes, Debbie, in case you are reading this, I love your house too.Last Friday, October 23rd, Donna came over here to take me to the "holiday Food and Gift Festival" at the Tacoma Dome. We dropped Debbie off at the airport because she was spending the weekend with Jennie, Mike and Sophie. Maybe I should say that Debbie went to visit Sophie and it just happened that Mike and Jennie would be there.

We really enjoyed the food and gift festival. We had an interesting experience. One of the booths that we stopped at was "Viviane by Viviane Woodward". They sell Cosmetics and skin care. Apparently the guy who was demonstrating was the son of the people who had the booth. He was definitely not a salesman. He was such a helpless young man. Donna took over mothering him. He had his name tag on crooked so Donna fixed it and the gals in the next booth had even loaned him a lab coat so he would look a little more professional. He was very nice and polite and he kept opening jars of cream for me and I actually gave him an order. I liked the creams and the prices were very good and larger jars than most of the cosmetic products I buy. So--I filled out my order and gave it to him. He said if I put down my credit card number they could send the order right out. I was NOT about to put my credit card number on that loose piece of paper. Since I did not want to put my credit card number down he said that someone would contact me Saturday morning and verify the order and take my information. I have not heard a word about my order. It is hard to say what he did with it. He was so happy too because I was his first order. I may be old but I have more sense than to just write my credit card down on a loose order form.
So on Saturday, Donna and her neighbor Marge and I went to Port Angeles. Donna and Marge are both into quilting and are always buying stuff. I didn't take a camera because this was an unexpected quick trip and I forgot to take it. I will have to remember next time. Donna had made a real pretty quilt to go on the bed that I sleep on. I will take a picture of it next time.

Then the kidnapping scenario started. I left a message on Debbie's phone that I was at Donna's and she called Donna on Saturday and said she got this cryptic message that there had been a kidnapping. Then I was supposed to come back Wednesday but on Tuesday the school called Donna and asked if she could work Wednesday so we didn't go because it would be so late when she got back and also it was pretty windy. Debbie said she even bought me Blueberries and I wasn't coming home. Since Donna had to work both Thursday and Friday, we decided to come home today. (Halloween) If you haven't seen the pathetic picture Debbie put on Facebook, you will have to look at it. When I got home today the kitchen looked very nice. Debbie loves to tease me as she knows working in the kitchen is about my favorite thing. During the week she would say that when they ran out of dishes, they would use paper plates and this morning she was real funny, asking if you could buy disposable pans.

I am so lucky that I have children who will take care of me in my old age. After living at Merrill Gardens, I know how fortunate I am. There are some really lonely people there. Even though you have others around you, it is not like family.

Sunday, October 25th, we went to Church in Sequim. Donna and Laif made a nice big stew and put it in the crockpot so it would be ready after Church. The Missionaries were supposed to come over for dinner. Donna had rolls, a nice salad and she had made a cake. We got to Church and found that the Missionaries couldn't come. Donna called up her neighbors Marge and George and invited them to dinner. I didn't know Donna had made the cake for me. Donna and Laif made it into a birthday dinner for me. We had a nice time visiting. My birthday was really the next day, Monday.

Monday, October 26th. I got lots of phone calls for my birthday. I even got a call from my personal banker at Sound Community Bank. I remember when I was in Ketchikan last May visiting David, my banker called just to see how things were going. David said he never heard of a bank calling when you didn't owe money. Monday evening, Donna and I went to a Mary Kay party. Keely, the girl who is learning to do Mary Kay is so sweet. Keely cleans Marge's house. Marge has trouble do some of the work in her house because she has a bad shoulder. Keely's husband, Brian does their yardwork and right now is helping George put in steps and a railing. George makes Jewelry and the room he works in cannot be accessed from inside the house. So he and Brian are making an opening so George won't have to go outside. Marge says they are both real hard workers. They have two children and it sounds like Keely is going to sign up for the home schooling that Donna is doing.

Tuesday, October 27th. We went to Marge's house for the rest of the Mary Kay party. Last night they just had us use cleansers and creams. We did the one today at 2pm to do the makeup part. We had it early because Donna had to be at the radio station a few minutes before 4pm. I sat in the Sound booth with her. Since my other cosmetic order seems to have disappeared into nowhere, I ordered some products from Mary Kay. I got a catalog and I can order through Keely on line and she said there is never any shipping.

Wednesday, October 28th. Marge invited me to lunch today. She made Chili, cornbread and brownies. Brian was working for George today and they always invite him for lunch too.

Thursday, October 29th. Donna had to teach PE today and she will have to teach it tomorrow too. Her knee was swelling some. I went with her after school while she got her massage. It is something her medical pays for. I got to go in the room with her. The Therapist is working on breaking up some scar tissue and works on relaxing her muscles. Donna says her knee is still not as straight as it should be. Laif came home for the weekend. We went to Applebee's to eat. I got the Orange Chicken Bowl. It was so huge that I took half of it home to have for lunch Friday.

Friday, October 30th. I didn't mention that I have been watching my Soap Opera all week. The bad thing about the Soap Opera is that Donna records her Soap Opera and watches it after work. She watches "All My Children" and now I am interested in it. I know I am going to hate myself but I just put it on my TiVo to record every week. I ate my leftovers from Applebee's for lunch. When Donna came home we went to Costco so they could buy candy for the Trick or Treaters. We ate dinner at Costco. We went back to the house to pick up a pair of black pants that I had ordered from Penney's on line to exchange. They were the same size as I always wear but they were so tight, I could hardly stand them. I had sent for three pair, 2 beige and 1 black. The beige pairs fit perfectly (meaning not perfect like on a model, but perfect for my lumps and bulges). Donna had wore them to work Wednesday because she was sure she could wear them but they were tight on her too. Finally, when she got home she measured them. The pants were too narrow in the upper legs. They were just cut wrong. We had gone to Penney's earlier so I could buy some more black pants and Donna hadn't tried mine on yet and it wasn't until she wore them to school that day that she measured them. I had bought 2 sweaters along with the new black pants I bought. When we went to exchange the pants Friday, I should have known better than to go into the store because I ended up buying another sweater. I love sweaters for winter. Unless it is extremely cold, I usually don't wear a coat, just a sweater over my top.

I guess that takes me up to today, October 31st. The day that I am no longer a "hostage". I am back in Renton now. I had a wonderful time. It is always great to be with family. I do miss Donna not being close by and I am glad I can spend time with her and Laif. Then this afternoon Daryl, Rachel and Avery came over to visit. They are such a nice little family. Erik went to Kyle's house to hang out for Halloween and help Kyle hand out candy for the Trick or Treaters. I still am trying to get used to Erik taking off in his car and going places by himself. Oh, yes, Debbie and Kent have gone out to eat and shop and I am left with handing out candy to Trick or Treaters. I really don't think it will be a problem. They have been gone about an hour and no one has come yet but the night is young so maybe someone will come, who knows.

Well, now that I have caught you up on my exciting life, I am going to go eat my dinner. Farewell for now.

The Beauty of Fall in our own backyard

My favorite season is Summer but I do enjoy all the beauty of Fall and the changing of colors in the leaves. I always wish it were Summer all the time but I will admit that we do live in one of the best areas in the United States weather wise. Usually we do not have extremes in weather like a lot of states.

Last Monday our group of ladies from Church had our monthly luncheon. We went to Olive Garden. We are planning on having Mexican Food next time. We may end up going to Tacoma or maybe Olympia.

Richard is always checking my blog. It seems like a lot of the stories happened in Bonney Lake. Richard says he remembers the time that I was taking the clothes off the clothes line in the back yard when I thought a dog was out by the swings. He just stood staring at me and I was thinking, Oh, no, not another stray dog. Finally he started walking away and I suddenly realized by his lumbering walk, it was a Black Bear. Then, it did shake me up a little to think I was taking down clothes and all the time the bear was just a few feet from me. By the swings there were a lot of Huckleberry bushes. I am sure that was probably why he stopped there. It was summertime and bears usually are not very hungry. Black bears actually are not really that dangerous and seldom attack people.

I loved the days that everyone had clotheslines. Your clothes always smell so good drying outdoors. Winter was not so great. I had drying racks to hang clothes on in front of the heater. I had a separate rack just for diapers. I used to dream about having diapers you could throw away, little realizing that it would really happen.

What I see from my room

I have been admiring the beautiful red leaves on the neighbor's tree. I decided to take a picture this morning. Richard sent an e-mail reminding me of how car tires used to be in the day of intertubes. Your tire didn't go down slowly like they do now. It would just sound like a gunshot when the tire blew and very difficult to control your car. I have had several blowouts in my life and I always managed to get to the side of the road. You could not go very many feet on a blown-out tire. I always had a big tank of a car full of kids so I never lost control like you would in a lighter car.

The time I remember the best is when I got a blowout coming up Eli Hill in this huge Pontiac. It was about 10am and I had just bought groceries at the Thriftway Store at the bottom of Eli Hill. I always did my shopping in the morning so that I would be home when the older kids got out of school. That morning I had the usual ones not in school yet, Richard, Debbie, Darrell and Dan.
I was part way up the hill when I got the blowout. I just had to leave the groceries in the car on the side of the road. I started walking home with the kids and was hoping I might make it before the other kids got home. It was probably at least 4 or 5 miles to the house but the problem was that I had to carry Darrell and Dan. Dan was not walking yet and Darrell could not walk very much. I had Richard hold Debbie's hand and kept them in front of me so I could see them the whole time.

My guardian angel was watching over me. I had probably walked about a half mile and one of the neighbors we had when we lived in Buckley drove by. She thought I was just out for a walk with the kids. She said she got up the road a bit and then got to thinking something did not look right that I wouldn't be out for a walk carrying two babies. She turned around and picked us up and we got the groceries and she took us home.

Now you are wondering why I did not just change the tire. I have never changed a tire in my life. Any time anything happened to a car that I was driving I would just leave it on the side of the road and when your dad came home he would rescue it. I know how a tire is changed but I have never done it. The biggest problem we had with tires was that we ran them until there was hardly any tread left and we almost never had a spare tire or even a jack in the car I drove. Your dad always had that stuff. He probably figured I wouldn't know what to do with it anyway.

There were many times in Bonney Lake when your dad would be gone for a week or more that I did have to figure things out for myself. This has always been hard for me to do. All my life I have been around men who would do things for me (until I met Clayton) and whenever there was a problem they would take care of it. I am still that way today. If I can get someone to do things for me I am happy. If I have to figure something out on my own I will but it is easier to let someone else do it.

Beautiful Fall Day today

Beautiful Fall colors.Last Friday evening we went to the stake center to watch the Shakespearean play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". It was just great. For an a non-professional group, the acting was wonderful. The story plot was well done and the costumes were excellent.

My son Richard e-mailed me to tell me he enjoyed my story about Pegasus, the flying horse. It really makes me feel old when I think that most of my children and of course, grandchildren do not remember all those Mobil stations with the Neon signs of the flying Horse.

Richard also talked about Duane's gas station in Bonney Lake. It is now a car detail shop. Duane who owned the station also built the U-Haul in Bonney Lake and Richard says he is still alive. Richard talked to Duane's son and his son remembers going to school with David (the one living in Alaska now). He also remembers that your dad was called "Red". Debbie brought up an interesting thought. Of all seven children and all the grandchildren, none of them had red hair. Either it was not a dominent gene or it was a throwback from an older generation.

We bought most of our gas at Duane's gas station. It was down Eli hill and almost into town. That was the gas station I was happy to see the day I got lost carrying the dynamite caps around in the car.

Flying Red Horse

I got an e-mail from my son Richard again reminding me that I have not been keeping up on my blog. He says I need to be putting on current events and past events. I was pretty good at that for awhile but it seems to be getting harder to find things to write about, but, Richard, I will try. Richard says I am the best Historian for the family. If this is true, I think the family is in trouble. Richard give me some suggestions about things to write. We took a picture of the Flying Red Horse when we went to the Museum in Dallas. I think all of you are too young to remember when the Flying Red Horse was on all the Exxon Mobil gas stations. Not only do I remember all those stations but what fascinated me more when I was a child was to watch the gas being pumped from the big glass pumps.


So now I will give you all a little history lesson about the Flying Horse (Pegasus). According to Greek Mythology, when Perseus cut of the snake-covered head of Medusa, Pegasus the flying horse leaped full-grown from the blood soaked ground.

To tame Pegasus, the goddess Athena provided the mighty horse trainer, Bellerophon with a magical golden bridle. Bellerophon and Pegasus performed many deeds including the slaying of the fire-breathing Chimera. Unfortunately, when the ego-driven Bellerophon tried to fly Pegasus to Mount Olympus to join the gods, the winged-steed bolted and cast Bellerophon to Earth, where he spent the rest of his life wandering the planet shunned by both gods and man. Pegasus now resides in the heavens as a constellation of stars.

In the 20th century, the Pegasus character was used as the winged mascot for the Exxon Mobil Corporation. Their flying red Pegasus symbol was used as early as 1911 and adopted as a trademark in the U.S. shortly after the organization of Socony-Vacuum in 1931. **

The Pegasus logo, a symbol of "speed and power" was first colored red by the Mobil Sekiyu in Japan. In 1934, Magnolia Petroleum Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation's predecessor) erected a "oil derrick" atop the 29 story Magnolia Hotel building. It supported two 30 by 50 foot red neon signs made in the image of Pegasus, the flying red horse.

A restored version of the original revolving Pegasus was reinstated as a part of the Dallas Millennium Celebration where a $600,000 duplicate flying red horse neon sign was relit at midnight to bring in 2000.

** In 1931, Socony merged with Vacuum Oil to form Socony-Vacuum. In 1955, Socony Vacuum was renamed Socony Mobil Oil Co. In 1963, it changed it's trade name to Socony Mobile. To celebrate it's 100th anniversary in 1966, "Socony" was dropped from the corporate name.

Temple in Dallas, Texas

We went to see the Dallas Temple when we were on our trip. We just walked around the grounds. Very beautiful. Sunday Debbie fixed dinner for the missionaries. It was a very nice dinner and everyone had a pleasant time. Choir practice started Sunday also. We only stayed for part of it because Debbie had to get back to her dinner preparations. That girl does so much all the time. It wears me out just watching her.

I have to tell you one funny thing. We were on our way to Choir Practice and Debbie called Kent and asked him if he would scrape off the top layer of cat fur on the black chairs. I just cracked up. Charlie really loves those chairs.

Today I went to the store and also I had a check to deposit. I couldn't deposit my check because it is Columbus Day and the bank was closed. I know--you can use those envelopes, which I have done but I don't like to.

The midwest is having some early snow and so is Colorado.

Fall is here with beautiful colors and falling leaves

This might not look like Texas to you, but it is. We took this picture at the Arboretum in Dallas. Here I am writing two days in a row. Last night Debbie and I went to the Relief Society meeting. It was craft night. Debbie was in charge of the craft where you put the dry ingredients for Chocolate Chip Cookies in a canning jar with a pretty cloth cover over the lid and the recipe for the cookies attached. I am sure you have seen them. Some of the other crafts were candle decorating, glitter pumpkins using the small decorative pumpkins and some other crafts mostly for Christmas. Also in the kitchen it was set up to make your own pizzas or tacos. There was a recipe booklet and some of the ladies gave instructions on how to make the dough.

Some of us "older" ladies didn't sign up for any craft. We just sat around and visited and looked to see what everyone else was doing. I am glad I went. We had a nice time.

Beautiful Sunset

I love pictures of outdoor scenery, especially sunsets and sunrises. I took these pictures from the back deck. Every Sunset has distinct coloring and shapes. Both of these pictures were taken seconds apart and see how rapidly the colors changed.

Richard reminded me that I have not written on my blog for six days. I have just spending time outside in the sun as much as I can. We are having such a lovely fall but I know the rains are coming.

Nothing real interesting going on. I just have something to ponder. In November we will have to decide whether Fairwood should be it's own city. I am waiting to read the Voter's Pamphlet to read the pros and cons. If this happens, we would be living in a different city without moving. If there is one thing you can count on in life it is change.

Since I don't have babies to write about, I will put on some more trivia I read. Thanksgiving will be coming in November so here is some turkey trivia.


TURKEY TRIVIA

Only Tom Turkeys gobble. Hen Turkeys make a clicking sound.

Domesticated Turkeys cannot fly.

Wild Turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 miles per hour and can run 20 mph.

June is National Turkey lover's month.

It is estimated that at maturity a Turkey has 3,500 feathers.

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin proposed the Turkey as the Official bird of the United States? He thought it was a much more respectable bird than the Eagle "and withal a true original native of America".

When Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin sat down to enjoy their first meal on the moon, their food packets contained roasted turkey and all of the trimmings.

Halloween is around the corner

Debbie took all these nice Pumpkins pictures when we were at the Arboretum in Dallas, Texas.

Fall is definitely here with all the beautiful colors of Fall. I haven't anything real exciting to talk about so I just thought I would put on some Halloween Trivia for you to read.

Halloween Trivia and Fun Facts

Orange and Black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.

Jack O' Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out Turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday.

Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings!

Halloween was brought to North America by the immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.

Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped Penny candy in America.

The Ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween Night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.

Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States.

Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for Trick-or-Treaters with Snickers being #1.

Halloween is the 2nd most commerically successful holiday, with Christmas being first.

Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the Roman Harvest Festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.

Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.

We did go to a Potluck at Church last evening. Debbie made two very good casseroles and a fruit salad.