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.