Nine Year Anniversary!

This weekend will be nine years since I moved in to 709 East Mountain Ridge Rd.

It was on the two year anniversary of Richard's death in November 1998 that Maria drove with me to Lake Almanor Country Club to look at potential home sites. When I didn't like any that were in my price range, the realtor showed us some others. I was immediately attracted to this one and asked to go back. I prayed about it for two days and then decided it was the right place for me so I asked the realtor to negotiate a lower price. The sellers were four children of a couple who had been killed in a car accident on icy Fredonyer Pass (between Lake Almanor and Susanville). I had no idea how I was going to afford the home or get a loan for it. Through the tender mercies of the Lord it all came to be and we were ready to make the move in March 1999.

Gary had driven the truck up and all the Pulsiphers and Valkos plus some of Mark's friends were there to unload the truck. The ground was wet and slushy from melted snow. Kristi was taking pictures on a movie cam but somehow I have never seen those pictures, I wonder where they are???

Except for one shelf of my corner hutch, miraculously nothing was broken. The large desk of Richard's could not be managed into the "office" bedroom and had to sit behind the couch in the dining room until I later took it all apart and put it back together in the "office". The organ had had a few keys missing from my first move from Rancho Bernardo and was now fixed. The grandmother clock was still not working so I placed the time at the moment of Richard's death. Gary worked long and hard at putting a special screen over the TV to protect the surface. In fact, they all worked long and hard with my very heavy furniture to get it all in place where I wanted it. When it was completed I was emotionally over come, it was perfect for me.

I am sure because I don't express things well they will never know how much I appreciated everyone's help at making this move for me. They were all wonderful.

Since I moved in a lot has happened to the house. My sisters came and helped me clean all the mildew off the yet unstained home. Mark did most of the staining of the house with a little help from me. Mark put in mirror doors and a fan in the master bedroom. Mark put slats under the front deck. At least 10 trees had to be removed from the back yard. Mark built a wood shed and filled it with wood. All the Valkos helped me remove all the accumulated branches and needles from years of sitting. The men who cut my trees also came in with a special "man raiser" and cut all the dead branches from the bottom of the remaining 50 trees. Mark and Maria arranged for the prison to recover my two couches and I found another man to recover my rockers and footstools.

Every spring Valkos or men from the ward had to haul my 200 or less bags of accumulated branches and needles to become mulch. The children gave me a snow blower and a barbeque for ease in the winter and fun in the summer. The Valko boys had to clean off my roof and clean out the drains as well as help me with the yard. Later my home teacher Ron Martin has done it for me, as well keep my driveway blown clear of snow.

In 2004 Matt hauled rocks and dirt to create some mourning gardens for me. Marjorie and the Thiesens helped me haul river rock for a path. (I still need some more for the path and the patio I have yet to do). Numerous daffodils have been planted and many things that the deer have already eaten the tops off but hopefully they will spring up again.

In 2005 Mark removed all the carpeting and linoleum and put down American Cherry woodfloors. I don't have squeaky floors anymore. Marjorie's son John laid new green carpet in the bedrooms. Maria helped me pick out the carpet and a new round carpet for the living room.

In 2007 the children paid for and Mark installed new tile in the bathrooms and new granite tops and sinks. My neighbor fixed my dining room table which had had the pedestal split when I had overloaded it with books when the bedrooms were being carpeted.

This simple home and yard have been a labor of love for me and much labor of others but I found the peace I have sought. It has been a refuge for me and a place to carry on my hobbies and projects. I have loved having all the outdoor space and safe places to walk. I have enjoyed the beauty of the lake and trees and mountains. Fortunately I have worked about six months out of the year so I could afford to stay here.

It is my deepest desire I will not have to leave here a day before I need to go. I know that Richard was deeply sorrowful that he was not leaving me secure in a home and I like that Camber analyzed that he had met the "sellers" of this home in paradise and had helped to make it all come true for me. It has been better than anything I could have planned for myself and I so appreciate everyone that has helped me be able to stay here. It is amazing how many people it takes to bring joy into the life of one person. Thank you everyone, I love you all and am so grateful.

It is DEFINITE--to NOT Gluten

It has only been a few hours, but the results are in--gluten makes me sick!

To Gluten or not to Gluten...

I have eliminated Gluten from my diet for more than a week except for one small biscuit and one small angel food cake slice on Easter. I definitely have no stomach aches and a lot more energy. Funny thing is I can remember having stomach aches being a problem since forever!!! And, of course, they have gotten worse as I've gotten older. As a teenager I remember blaming it on my tight levis (we wore the lady levi which had absolutely no give at all)!!! Not!!! Later I blamed in on sweets!! Not!!! (Though moderation in all things is still a must.)

Today I am going to add back some gluten and see what happens. I came across the following article today. I had no idea just 3 days could show so much.

"If you think something you're eating is terrorizing your tummy, try this food-elimination test.

Eliminate the suspect -- be it dairy products, wheat items, or processed sugars -- for 3 days in a row.

Keep a diary of how you feel during those days. Here are important clues to note.

Diary of a Digestive:

If your digestion habits changed, your tummy felt more comfortable, or your energy levels jumped, those are sure signs that you may have a food-triggered irritability.

If adding the food back in makes you feel like you have a touch of the flu, that would be another really strong sign. "

Probably Will Not Get Called Out and Why!

I probably will not get called out on this Disaster and I finally understand why after talking to a number of people from the Herndon and Sacramento offices. In 2005, SBA went from four offices doing all aspects of disaster to four offices each doing a specialty. Texas would now be Loan Processors and Sacramento would be Field Operations.

From 2000-2005 I was Disaster Reserve Loan Specialist and could work as a processor in the office or go out in the field--then when they made all the changes in SBA in 2005 Sacramento had us fill out applications to be DR Customer Service Reps (Field Operations) but before the approvals could be completed Hurricane Katrina hit and they hired us to go out there and serve as CSRs whether it was completed or not. We came to Sacramento and had CSR training. Texas was hiring as local as possible so they would not have to pay for housing for the Loan Specialists and hirees would be more permanent, if possible.

Then I retired in 2006 (big mistake) and in October 2007 when the San Diego fires hit I wanted to come back and completed the application on line and sent it to Herndon (they do all the hiring). They were not advertising for CSRs then, nor are they now. I just completed the one for DR Loan Specialist thinking it actually was Disaster Reserve and we would serve in disasters where they wanted us to go! It finally did get approved. And they are sending me the packet.

But, DRLS usually serve out of the Fort Worth office and the chance of getting called are very slim it would seem as they just recently laid off 600 (from Katrina and Rita) though they are still advertising for that job and not for the CSR and Lena from Herndon said they probably won't advertise for CSRs again until September.

So Lena advised me to get on board and possibly I could get a call sometime if there are more hurricanes etc. and then in September reapply as CSR. Seems if I was needed out in the field they would use me since I have served as both but probably not so.

Lena says I will go on a list to all offices as a DSLS but since the Sacramento office is not using them I would not likely get called by them. She also added that they are always changing things though so...

But, anyway I left my name and availability with Denise in Sacramento and I think she understands what happened here though I really didn't understand it fully until Lena looked up my records and found why I was showing in Herndon with two applications and the CSR never completed from 2005 but the 2007 LS approved.

Now, if you are still with me, you understand why I probably will not get called out.

I'm Back!

Today I worked most of the day in my yard and even washed my car!!! I haven't had this much energy in months.

I had been raking the area that had melted and was pretty pooped and wondered how I was going to bag all those branches when my teenage neighbor came out to speak to me so I asked him if he wanted to do some hauling--"Sure", he said.

He came over and bagged all the branches and carried all the sacks of manure to the back and I soon had all my gardens fertilized and mulched and the yard is ready for summer!!! He was beat. I paid him, of course, I want him to come back again!

Of course, there is still 3 ft of snow on the north and east sides but the important part with all the daffodils coming up is beautiful. Should bloom this next week!!!

Yes, I'm back!!!

Happy Easter!

Maria, Mitch, Melissa and Marjorie came over for Easter dinner.

The menu was shrimp cocktail, cheesy biscuits, pork tenderloin, string beans, six cup salad, cherry pink jello salad, mashed potatoes and gravy. Dessert was Strawberry Short Cake on Angel Food Cake (there must be a better name for that).

We had learned in church that this is the earliest Easter will be (23 of March) until the year 2228! Easter is always the first full moon after March 20 the way I understand it. The last time it was this early was 1913.

Consequently, the daffodils were not yet in bloom...but it surely feels like spring, yea!

News from Lauren Sutehall from Dubai

From those of you who don't hear from Uncle Martin's granddaughter Lauren--here is her latest message from Dubai!!

Greetings from Dubai!

We had a fantastic port visit to Dubai, UAE- it was my favorite port visit yet! The first day we visited a giant outdoor mall that is created to look like an old Arab fort. It is extremely expensive there but they offer just about any food you can imagine (we had French Polynesian for dinner). That mall, called the Madriat Jumeirah, is next to the only hotel in the world that is rated at 7 stars! The hotel requires an advanced fee and registration- just to see inside the lobby! Needless to say, we didn’t see the inside. (see pix of outside)

The next day we went to the “Mall of the Emirates” where we went skiing! This mall has a giant indoor winter wonderland with a ski slope, ski lift and sledding hill. The slope wasn’t very crowded and it was fun skiing to blasting music and no lift line! After a morning on the slope, we went off-roading on the sand dunes! We drove about half way to Oman to the middle of the desert. Our crazy driver laughed at us and told us we “screech like chickens” when the RV was falling sideways down the dunes. Then we rode camels and had a Middle Eastern BBQ with belly dancers and hooka at a campsite in the desert. It was an amazing day!

In the picture of the sunset over the dunes, you can see a large tower that will be the tallest building in the world when it is finished this year. I hope I have the chance to return and explore more of Dubai one day. We are back at sea now and celebrated St. Patty’s Day with non-alcoholic beer and Irish food! I hope everything is going well for you and that you have a Happy Easter!

Lauren

ENS Lauren Sutehall USS Hopper (DDG 70) Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer

The Brave Deer

Today while walking home along the road (which is still deep on each side with lots of snow) I could see we had six deer walking toward us.

They had stopped and were eyeing us cautiously to determine what to do. Finally the biggest one started toward us while the others watched. She bravely looked us straight in the eye (on the opposite side of the road) and watched while I calmed Bandido and made him stop barking. When all was ok, she proceeded to walk again, still watching us until we were far enough away and then she just stopped entirely.

When the deer had successfully passed us, the others stepped up and over the snow bank and hung around my neighbor's house until Bandido and I had entered my driveway and climbed the stairs.

It wasn't until I had shut the door that the five deer ventured out on the road again. In the meantime, the one large deer was walking back to meet the other deer. She had never taken her eye off us. When they were all together again they proceeded down the road.

It was as if she was in charge (Mom) and going to protect the others from any harm (Bandido) until all was safe. Very interesting!

Hubby Tag

I wasn't going to do this since I don't currently have a hubby on earth, but he is my eternal companion so here goes...

Name: Richard Clair

How long married: 37 years, 1 month

How long dated before eloping: six weeks.

Who asked who out? He did. He was new in the ward. I had just come back from summer school and turned him down three times in one week (cuz I had other dates). The lady next door to my apt said this guy kept running up my stairs to see if I was there. Finally we went out and my old boyfriend came and interrupted our saying goodnight. I think that is why he was so anxious to get married. He thought I was too popular. Actually it was that I had broken up with this boyfriend I almost married the first of the summer and other friends from the ward asked me out as soon as I came back from summer school. It was a weird week, not the norm of my life.

Who said I love you first: Richard, he took me home to meet his mother the second week after our first date...She gave me the 3rd degree and I wasn't too sure about the whole thing yet, especially her.

How old was he when we married: 28, when he died: 65

Who was taller: Richard, 5 ft 11, me 5 ft 5 1/2 I was attracted to him because he was a "take charge" kind of guy.

Who could sing better: I sang the lullabies to the babies, he sang "The Animal Fair", I am sure the children remember his song better than my lullabies.

Who was smarter: He had a better memory, I could read faster and get to the bottom line faster, he could negotiate better--different gifts entirely.

Who did the laundry: When we were newlyweds and caretakers of an apartment house, he took the laundry to the laundromat and scrubbed the floors and I did the yard work. He never learned how to use the washer and dryer once we had our own.

Who paid the bills: Early in our marriage we got separate checking accounts and I had so much money a month to pay all the house bills and he did the other. Later on, oh well, let's not talk about that...

Who slept on right side of bed: I did, but now I sleep on his side and Bandido sleeps on my side.

Who cooked dinner: I did and always put his plate in the oven as he came home too late for the children to eat with him. Later when I was working we often stopped somewhere. If he came home and no dinner, he never complained but would always find something on his own. He always cleared the table and dishes and rinsed them but would not load them in the dishwasher.

Who ate the most sweets: I definitely ate the most sweets, but he ate the most food and anything I made or bought he would want me to share it with him. When we would fill up the gas tank together he would always buy ice cream snicker bars cuz he knew I loved them.

Who drove: Richard always wanted to drive and he always filled up all the cars with gas. I've missed that a lot.

Who is more stubborn: Toss up, depended on what it was about.

Who kissed who first: He did. I actually didn't think he was a very good kisser at first, to tell you the truth. (Since he can't read this.)

Who proposed? He did, as I say he was a "take charge" person. I was teaching school, he was working in a bank, it was a long time till vacation. He just wanted to get married and wanted to elope on a weekend, but his brother found out and brought his mother and family down to San Diego on a Friday afternoon. It was very embarrassing, I didn't even know them.

Who wore the pants: In our early marriage, he took charge of everything, even calling the babysitter. Later, after his first heart attack, I became more aggressive but not because I wanted to...I wanted to be a princess and have my prince take care of me forever...(at least that is what my gynecologist told me)

Richard was a good husband and father. He is very missed.

Anyone who reads this is tagged!

Compliments, please!

I can live two months on one good compliment! -- Mark Twain

This was the message of WalktheTalk today and how true. We all need that backup to say we are doing "ok". In fact, it is one of the things I miss most about my husband. He was quick to say something positive and uplifting. Without that support system, it is easy to get caught in a mire of doubt about yourself.

We all know we need compliments, why don't we all look for reasons to say something nice to people? I was surprised at Madonna with all her wealth and fame and yet she paid tribute to a ballet teacher in her childhood who had told her "she was special".

Something I need to work on, for sure...

Time Change...or not?

I was an hour late for church this Sunday because I totally spaced the time change.

It reminded me of the first spring I was teaching school in San Diego. I was dating this cute Navy helicopter pilot and he told me we had an extra hour that Saturday night because we were supposed to put all our clocks back an hour for the time change.

I told my roommates that and we were all two hours late for church...unfortunately we were all junior sunday school teachers, too.

An innocent mistake? I always assumed so...

"Retrospectroscope"--Never Look Back...

I have been studying the life of Dr. Russell M Nelson who was on the team that developed the first machine that could perform the functions of a patient's heart and lungs during heart surgery.

This was just the beginning of his many accomplishments but one thing he said really stood out as important to me in my life and the way I view myself. It is a good lesson for us all to learn.

He said that he had been taught by N. Eldon Tanner never to look back.

"He taught me not to look through the 'retrospectroscope' and agonize over what I might have done differently. So I don't relive the past. Each hour had its opportunity, and I either did a good job or I fumbled the ball. I walk away from the past knowing I gave it the best I had."

Emerson on "Self-Reliance"

It is amazing to me how many things I can find to do when I am procrastinating doing something I don't want to do!!!

Today I thought about the literature class I had in college on Ralph Waldo Emerson and how much I liked it, so I spent a good part of my day reading the lines I had underlined. I must have been smarter than I thought I was--some of them are quite provocative!

Here is something I had marked as V.G.:

"A political victory, a rise of rents, the recovery of our sick or the return of your absent friend, or some other favorable event raises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you. Do not believe it. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles."

That is from his discourse on "Self-Reliance" written in 1841. I must have really liked that one, I have a lot underlined.

I remember Del, who I dated in college, and we were both to write down the things we didn't like about each other (a very dangerous assignment). As I recall I had quite a few on my list but he had only one thing. TOO D------ INDEPENDENT!

I guess that is a good thing since I have been alone for so much of my life.

Rats in La Jolla, Bats in Lake Almanor

Learn something new everyday, as I have said before. On my walk today I stopped and chatted with a "Bat Control Specialist" and learned that bats are protected. You cannot kill them. However, they may nest in your attic and the build up of their droppings can make you sick. He was telling me about two men in the area that had pneumonia last summer and it was traced to the droppings they were sweeping from their garage.

He said when they remove bats from a home, they build bat homes for them in the trees so the bats will not try and get back in the house. Of course, the house is grouted tightly. Bats only need 1/4 inch of space to get inside. Now I know why all the vents in my house have wire screen behind them. Bats are the good guys, they eat the mosquitoes and pesky insects so we want them here, we just don't want them in our homes.

The first summer here there were two bats in my patio umbrella, scared me to death. I called Utahna's husband and he came and cleaned them out. I have two umbrellas in my garage now, one of which is broken and never opened in the summer. Is that an invitation for a nest? He told me to look for their droppings, they look just like mice and rat droppings.

He said it is very hard to relocate bats. They tried to move 200 bats from a house on East Shore and painted their tails with iridescent paint to track them. He said the bats went right back to the East Shore. He has been trying to get bats to go live at a farmer's place as there are moths eating his crops. So far, he says, they have not been successful. He said you can't move bats at all when they have babies to care for. Interestingly they only have one baby bat at a time.

Well, when I clean out the garage this spring, I think I will just take the broken umbrella to the dump without opening it!! Of course, what if they got out while I was driving and were swooping around the car, oops...bad idea.

Always something to worry about, enough to drive you batty.

The 'darn' truth...

Today I found a hole in one of my favorite red sweaters so I decided to mend it the way my mother used to darn our socks. I had watched her many times as a child. She always had a darning basket full of socks, darning thread, needle, thimble and a wooden darning mallet (have no idea what it was called) with a round ball on the end. She would put the heel of the sock on the mallet and proceed to sew threads across the hole and then go back and actually weave the thread over and under very closely so when she finished you had a sock stronger in that area than it was before. With six children there were always lots of socks to darn.

Since my Dad actually managed and then owned a department store, you would have thought they could afford new socks but not so. My children and grandchildren have no idea how frugal our parents lived. Richard used to hate the patched jeans he had to wear, but that was life in our childhood era. The following is a quote from a letter my Mom had written me about my birth in 1933.

"Ellen (Aunt) took care of the children while I was in the hospital and we furnished the food to feed both families. She could really cook good food with very little. Nothing was wasted. We used to save all the peelings from vegetables, cook them till tender, put them through a sieve and season and it was very good."

P. S. My sweater actually looks quite good so glad I learned that little task from watching my Mom.

"Somebody's Not Doing His Job!"

I loved this from Walk the Talk Network today. What Lucy said made me laugh-- Excerpted from The Richest Man in Town: Chapter Titled The Source of Happiness:

At times Marty made it sound too easy. On a visit to his home I heard him say, “People need to decide to be happy.” I pressed him. “What do you mean by that?”

His face took on an incredulous look. “You have to ask me?” At that moment I felt a little foolish. Complex human problems, at least to me, often prevent people from being happy. To Marty it was a matter of common sense. I wondered, what was I missing?

“C’mon, Marty,” I said, “do you really think people can actually decide to be happy?”

“Who makes decisions for you?” Marty asked me. “All my life I’ve watched people waiting for someone else to make them happy. The way I got it figured, the only one who can make you happy is you.”

As I considered his point, my mind began to wander. Strangely, I thought of an old “Peanuts” cartoon–the one in which Lucy asked Charlie Brown, “Why do you think we were put on earth?”

Charlie Brown answered, “To make others happy.”

“I don’t think I’m making anyone happy,” Lucy replied, “but nobody’s making me very happy either.” Then Lucy screamed out, “Somebody’s not doing his job!”

I smiled at that moment, thinking Marty had something in common with Charles Schultz, the creator of the “Peanuts” cartoon. Both seemed to be saying that it was silly to expect other people to have such an influence over our lives.

That was Marty’s lesson: Only you can make you happy.