Kathy Hardy turns 80!

Such a beautiful picture of Kathy and Martin (Richard's brother) with their children Mark, Susan, Anne, Lauren and Jim.

Santa Woes

Keira had the exact same reaction to Santa as Linda did in 1963--it actually seems like a very sensible reaction at that age when you think about it.

  

 

Bandido

Early in November 1996 Richard and I were on a drive in Rancho Bernardo when we were attracted by a "Puppies for Sale" sign.  We watched the puppies for awhile and were especially attracted by a little Lhasa Apso/Maltese puppy who had a band of color across his eyes.  I began to call him "Bandit".  I wanted to get him but he cost so much!  We were in severe financial straits but Richard agreed we should get him.  It was very strange our wanting a puppy--completely out of character and unplanned.

One evening as Richard lay on the couch and I was sitting in my rocker with Bandido on my lap, Richard began to talk about our "Golden Anniversary" in 2009 and the fact that Bandido would be 13 years old then!

Three weeks later on a trip to Susanville Richard passed away and Bandido became my only companion for the next 16 years.  Richard had renamed "Bandit--Bandido", the Spanish version of the word Bandit.  Richard loved working with the Spanish people and wanted to go on another mission someday to the Spanish people.

One day when working in the San Diego Temple months later, I asked the Spanish lady working with me how I should be spelling "Bandido".  She explained that Bandido spelled with a d meant Bandit and Bandito spelled with a T meant Blesssed. 

So over the years he has been Bandit (the rascal) or Blessed depending how anyone would spell his name and how he was acting.  In the  picture above we are living in the apartment in James's Pacific Beach home.  He was always so adoring and adorable.

Later after moving to our Lake Almanor home he would wear a moutain kerchief or a raincoat on a cool day.  I called our mountain home "The Great Escape" relating to Bandido and my escaping from the city to the mountains.

Over the years Bandido has been a very faithful and loving companion.  When I worked in Disaster for several years he would stay with my daughter or son or my sister.  He had many who loved him and he them.  One time when I picked him up from my sister he was very confused as to his loyalty.  She treated him so well.

I loved this wise look.  He always seemed to know when I needed comforting and he would always let me know exactly what he wanted, too.

Bandido, a wonderful dog, companion and friend for over 16 years.  We love you, Bandido, Farewell and I hope you are reunited with Richard.

Bandido

Always Loved
1996-2012

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.  

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together

in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands 

again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so 

long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Bandido 1996-2012

 

Many Faces of Bandido

 

Bandido and Some Friends Over the Years

Kelsi built a bond with Bandido when she was just a baby.

Jimmy cuddles Bandido, too.  He had lots of loving.

The boys wanted to carry him in their back pack.  Which is what I did sometimes when he got tired in his old age.  He also rode in my basket around Mission Bay and Beach.  I wish I had a picture of that.  He was under 2 then.

 

Mitch had the soft touch.

Sarah and her friends so wanted to be able to take Bandido on a walk.  He didn't want to move unless I was walking with him, too.  He could be very stubborn.

Baja Beige is what his groomer in Pacific Beach called him.  He really got dirty on this hike with Marjorie and I.

He had one great trip to the cabin in Silver Gate!

 

He liked walking on the beach, but did not want to go near the water.  Same with the lake.  Marjorie's dog would just jump in--not Bandido.

Kelsi gave Bandido lots of love.

Here with Melissa a few years ago--
they both have the curly hair. 

Better days, he looked so handsome.

 

He spent lots of time with the Valko family.

Keira's first time sitting in a dog cage I am sure.  She is not quite certain what his reaction will be.  But he was mellow.

I wish I had a picture of my sister Jeanne with Bandido, she cared for him very well on some of my SBA trips, as did Camber, James, Mike, Linda and Maria--wish I had more pix of him with his friends.

Christmas Card 2012

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Lake Almanor.

Life continues to be rich and good in my 80^th year.  And I wish the same for you- a long life of health and happiness with a few woes sprinkled in, too.

 Who belongs to who in the picture?

 4 children, 15 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren as follows:

John’s daughter  

     Meagan married to Matt

         Keira

Linda married to Gary

      Kristi married to Mike

          Kate, Ryan Brynn

      Kelly married to Matt

      Craig, Amy, Tanner, Sarah

Maria married to Johnny

       Mike, Matt, Melissa, Mitch

James married to Camber

        Jacob, Lea, Jimmy, Kelsi

First Storm of Winter

It is not daylight yet so I cannot assess any other damage but Michael woke me at 11:21 PM to show me this.  I thought I had heard noise in the garage so I thought Michael had been out and just come home but we couldn't see any damage in the garage and he looked all around.  Probably just some branch on the roof.

The cedar tree next to the deck has always been a threat but I hate to get rid of it, in spite of the messes it causes.  I guess trouble really does come in threes, first the Shingles for me, then Bandido's death sentence and now this.  Glad Michael is here to help but looks like we need a chain saw and who is going to put the deck back together?  Woe is me.

After looking at all this in the daylight it may have come from the top of a cedar tree on the other side of the house, actually belongs to my neighbor.  It is a smaller cedar but the top could have been the culprit in my yard.

 

In Memory

In 1978, prior to the terrible 80's, happier times.  Richard passed on November 27 at 2:20 AM and I have missed him so much and I am so sorry he missed knowing his grandchildren and great grandchildren.  He would have been very bored in Lake Almanor though, not his style.

Today I stocked up prior to the storms we are supposed to be getting.  I treated myself to the Pumpkin Shake I have loved ever since discovering them in Galveston after Hurricane Rita  and Katrina--will ever remind me of that lovely place or what was a lovely place.

I was so exhausted when I returned I didn't even put the groceries away and immediately fell to sleep.  When Maria called at 5:30 I had just awaken and thought it was 5:30 in the morning and wondered why on earth she was calling so early.

I believe that Mitch is right and what I thought were spider bites and  aches and pains from being on my feet so much over the holiday is Shingles...Yikes, I wonder how long this will go on, I have read from 2 to 4 weeks!!!!  Better get back to sleep with my heating pad.  Somehow it is a comfort.

Christmas, Lake Almanor, 2012

It is so hard to believe a year has past since I put out the Christmas decorations last year.  It gets simpler every year, do less and less I guess. 

I 

I remember with the Rancho Bernardo house I would start right after Halloween and need at least one grandchild to help me.  But then I had the big fake tree, and decorated it all Victorian.  I still have a lot of those decorations. 

Tomorrow will be 16 years since Richard passed--time has gone so fast but it has been so lonely without him.  Yesterday I was reading the history of Richard's great grandfather Dudley Leavitt and so many women were left widows.  It seemed too many men died much too young.  I am still trying to understand why.

The first Christmas (1996) I was with the Pulsiphers and I have seen movies and I am looking very sad and overwhelmed by it all. 

 The second Christmas I remember I decorated the small apartment I was in (part of Jimmy's house) with lots of Christmas lights and way too many decorations for such a small place.  But it was very cozy and at James and Camber's Christmas party for their office one of the children went back to my apartment with me and we played games and read Christmas stories with just the Christmas lights on and when her parents came to get her she did not want to go home.  It was very warm and full of Christmas in that little room.

Tonight I will enjoy looking at my two Christmas books of past Christmases with Richard and John and the rest of the family.  We started the book in 1960 when John was just a baby and I haven't missed a Christmas yet!  Oops I see I missed 1961!  I will have to look back and see what pix I have from that year.

 

Thanksgiving 2012

Mike drove down to Chico and brought Mitch and Melissa back and Matt drove from Tahoe.  Everyone was here in time for turkey and ham sandwiches and cocoa Wednesday night.  They even got into the Cheesecake.


Matt kept the fire going, no one can make a fire like Matt can. 

 

 Melissa called us all out to the deck for pictures and caught me unaware but she said she liked the way I was standing.

Mitch was wearing a hat like the college boys wore in the 40's. 

Mike and Mitch look like the Blues Brothers.

I insisted Mike show his hair instead  of his hood.

Mitch was happy to see Bruce, as were we all.  Poor Bandido didn't even get out of his cage for the day.

Melissa said we looked like models!

 

I really enjoyed having all of Maria's children for Thanksgiving.
What a good looking group, I like the trees in back, too.

It's That Time of Year Again!

This year has gone unbelievable fast, it is already time again for:

• Flannel Sheets
• Fur Throws
• Wood Stove Fires
• Cocoa Mix
• Marshmallows
• Hallmark Christmas Movies
• Decorating the House
• and all that Christmas stuff

While I was at Jeanne's we had Chocolate Ovaltine which I drank hot and really loved.  As a child I drank a lot of ovaltine and I think it is much more healthy than my cocoa mix so yesterday I looked for some at Walmart--Not!  So this morning I looked in the Family Recipes and sure enough Linda had put in the recipe for Cocoa Mix.  It is really very good, I put it through a strainer to get out all the cocoa lumps but I love hot cocoa in the winter so I keep the steam pot on the stove and the mix and marshmallows ready.

I have many, many Hallmark movies recorded so I always have a "happy ending" flick to watch no matter how bad TV is and this weekend I will decorate the house for Christmas.  It used to come right after Halloween but I am waiting a little this year.  I am even thinking of possibly cutting a fresh tree for Christmas--will need to see if I can get Michael to help me.

Marjorie and I ran into a beautiful grove of them, would love to find it again, and of course, I need to find out what the regulations are for cutting in the forest.

This is a wonderful time of year except for I am always sad thinking about Richard and that Thanksgiving in 1996 and then it was also Thanksgiving time when my brother Richard passed away, too.  Sad and happy memories always a mix at this time of year.  Thank heaven for hot cocoa and Hallmark movies and being thankful for all our blessings to get us through the season.

Shades of WWII Fears

I now know for sure I could never be a spy, I am too wimpy, fearful and have no guile.  I thought I would enjoy watching "Wish Me Luck" which is a British series on the British spies who were in Occupied France during WW II.  It specifically follows two young women as they sign up, are trained and then actually in France amongst the Nazis.

Today I had to stop watching, I am just too tense and frightened for them when the Nazis come around.  I did have terrible nightmares about the Nazis when I was in grade school.  We would see the newsreels at the weekend movies so we did have visuals of them in our minds and I probably saw movies with them portrayed as mean and evil.  At any rate I just am too nervous and worried as I watch so I had to go on to a love movie and probably will not go back to the series.

What better choice than a Betty Davis movie.  Oh, what good movies she made.  Today's film was "A Stolen Life".  Naturally I couldn't remember any of the story line but she has a twin who steals her boyfriend (young Glenn Ford) and of course, marries him and is not a good wife to him as she is the evil twin.  It was so enjoyable to watch I will have to find another one and stay away from the Nazi films. 

I don't know if watching the news is much better than watching the Nazis.  There is so much happening right now and none of it is good except I have heard a few Senators who are speaking out and finally making some good sense.  I realized again today why I never watch the View.  I saw a clip on the internet of them being so rude to Ann Coulter.  They invite her on the show, do not read her book, and immediately begin attacking her.   Ann Coulter does a lot of research, takes the time to write a book of her research and they just wing their opinions out at her.  Very strange I think and Elizabeth is the only one who has an opinion I respect anyway.  We really are a divided country.

Letter to Exiles

Glenn Beck read the letter that Steve Elliott of Grassfire.org wrote about being dejected after the election but then made a new plan after reading Jeremiah's Letter written to the Exiles in the  Old Testament, Jeremiah 29.   Jeremiah said the letter was for all the elders, priests, prophets and all the people (Jews) whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon and he tells them to prepare for 70 years of captivity but then gave them this advice:

5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;

6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there and not diminished.

7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you. deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them. saith the Lord.

And then, of course, he promises if they will seek, they will find Him and He will gather them from all the nations, and from all the places and bring them back to their home (speaking of the Last Days).  And we know what a successful people the Jewish people have become even as they have been exiled and scattered all over the world.

and Glenn Beck summarized it all by saying:

“If that is not one of the most profound things you have heard if you are looking for a plan ... Exile. Build. Have children. Marry them off. Strengthen, strengthen, strengthen. And be a blessing to others.” --Glenn Beck