Christmas and Day After 2012

Matt and Johnny fixed the snowblower and spent a lot of time widening the driveway and Johnny made a path to the Propane Tank.  What a lot of work for the guys.

 Time to Say Goodbye and thanks for all the snow blowing and shoveling and fixing the snow blower, etc, and etc.  Loved having Maria and Johnny an extra day.

Clear starry sky and a full moon, wish I knew how to photograph it. 

 Funny birdhouse.

Christmas After the Power Came On, 2012

Miraculously we were ready to sit at 6:30 PM with a full Thanksgiving Dinner.

Matt had just arrived from Tahoe.

We did the White Elephant Game after dinner.

Sean from Oroville, Melissa's boyfriend.

 

Maria has all her children in one place at Christmas, with Bruce, too.

The Christmas of Snow

The snowblower broke and Michael had to shovel every day for three days before help arrived.

Melissa and Sean arrived around 3 followed by Maria and Johnny who brought Mitch.

Power was out for a day,came back and then was out from 11 AM Dec 23 to 3 PM Dec 24.

I had called Maria and asked her to pick up some ham as no oven, and then just as Melissa

arrived, the power came on and we rescued the turkey and put it in the oven.

 We had lots of good desserts.

Nestled Under the Trees

 

Winter Wonderland Extraordinaire

 

View from the back deck.

View to the left

View to the right.

Across the street.

Picnic anyone?

 

Birdhouses styled for Christmas.

 "I think that I shall never see, a thing as lovely as a tree..."

Notice those blue skies, it is sunny and over 40 degrees--beautiful in Lake Almanor.

A Thank You from Brynn

What a big smile from Brynn as she opens her Christmas present.  Thank you, Sarah, for sending.

Now This Is Snow Day!

Two hours later...you can't see how much snow is coming down.  Schools are closed and snowplows cannot keep the roads clean...says we may get 6 ft of snow.  Good thing I have new tires on my car and a lot of food in the house.  Hope no one gets snowed away for Christmas.  I better prepare for a power outage.



It is really coming down, snowing and blowing and the morning has just begun!

What I Want

So tomorrow my Reverse Mortgage closes and I will get some cash!!!  Of course, being the sensible person I am, I will not be spending much except for paying bills but...I decided I would satisfy a few wants.  And here is what they are...

New towels...one of the nicest memories of my Trafalgar trip to Scandinavia in the year 2000 was the fluffy white towels hanging on rods filled with warm water.  Towels can get so sad and droopy, so new towels are a must.

New white undies...ooh, they can get so dingy and dull, so definitely on the list.

New silky pajamas and robe...no one to buy for me anymore so must indulge myself.

New watch...why can I not keep a watch working and without a crack on the face very long I am not sure, but I have been without a watch for a long time now.  Time to invest...

New Vera Wang...I am down to last few scents, so I must replace.  I have many other colognes but I do love my Vera Wang.

More casual plates...so many of my everyday plates are chipped, time to throw them out and replace.

A new broom!!!...I love to sweep with a good broom my decks, my steps, my driveway.  Vida always used to sweep the front and back of my house, something I always neglected, now I like to do the same thing.

Teeth cleaned...oh my, I am ashamed I have thrown those reminders away for so long now, I cannot put it off any longer.

Well, except for bills and a few last Christmas things, that is my short list.  I am sure I can think of something else though...that is if there is any left after I pay bills and put some savings away.

Time for my bubble bath.  I do spoil myself these days, loved my long nap today.  That is one of the nicest things about being retired, being able to crash whenever the need arises.  I can remember in 2001 when we were working such long hours in Texas and and I laid my head on my desk for just a minute it seemed...my boss came and whispered in my ear.  "Janet, if you need a rest, you need to leave the area"...now, no bosses, nobody needing me, I can just nap whenever I want...good there are some perks with old age.

Special Moments This Month

...Happy remembrances of Bandido
...Beautiful messages about Bandido
...Listening to Andrea Bocelli singing the Lord's Prayer
...Keira in her swishy red dress and white coat
...Watching the video on Bandido and Keira walking
...Holly hugging me and saying 'Thank You'
...Singing Carols with the Branch
...Getting two compliments while shopping, 'Beautiful hair' and 'Smell wonderful'
...Driving through the snow covered pines
...Enjoying delicious dinner at the Church
...The red sunset on the way home from Susanville
...Jane's Lesson from Mormon, Chapter 8
...Listening to 'Wish Upon a Star' by Rod Stewart
...Michael being ready for Bandido and I
...Feeling energetic and contented
...Long phone calls with friends and family
...Memories of Glendive shared with Myrna
...Memories of past Christmas's with Richard, John and other children and family
...Memory of toddler running to me and asking if I was Mrs. Santa Claus
...Homemade 'perfect' caramel suckers
...Hot cocoa and marshmallow
...Bubble baths by candlelight while listening to favorite music
...Being snuggly warm in AM under Chico sweatshirt from Melissa



...

Wow, Clean Up Going Great

I am so proud of myself that I worked all day.  I had to keep stopping and resting but I usually have to quit after a half day of physical labor any more.  This is good.  Mike thinks we should leave the deck open and put the grill there.  That is an idea if we could finish it nicely.

We now have six piles of cedar boughs that I hope we can get into the back of the Subaru in one trip (on a plastic sheet, of course).  If not, it will have to be two.  Mike will help me with that on Friday.  If we only had a truck...
 
We have more kindling to chop that I have ever had.
And Ron said he would bring his chain saw and cut up the long piece that is left when he comes back from So. Calif.

Oh, yes, I also collected 10 bags of droppings from the storm and that is only around the house.  The whole back 40 hasn't been touched.  Joys of living in the pines.  My new way of getting rid of those bags is one bag with each garbage pickup.  That means we will always have bags to put out because we collect more than we get rid of...

But I HAD THE ENERGY AND STRENGTH TO DO IT.  THAT IS MAJOR.  Mike had separated all the boughs from the main tree and then I separated the kindling from the throw away boughs.  Too bad no one wants them for Christmas.  Wish I knew someone who wanted the Cedar for carving.  Beautiful wood.

I need to get one of those blow gadgets--it is not easy sweeping the little needles off the driveway after a storm.

Fond Memories from College

Some of my fondest memories from college:

Christy and Allen Hall, sunning on the deck, going to the dances, endless talking and laughing, the wonderful food, peanut butter and bread and canned peaches hidden in our drawers, playing "Perfidia" on the piano as I remembered my boyfriend. Going to Idaho with Del and Doyle and Christy and two others, such a fun weekend at their farms and the Stake dance. Going to the Genealogy Building on the bus on Thursday nights and copying all the information I could find, Erica giving me the treasured Record Book to take care of and telling me that was my mission. Actually singing and dancing in a musical. Sunday Church in the Joseph Smith Building, such a large group of us, testimony meeting was amazing. "Jim" from Idaho and the blind date for the dance--he made me laugh, such a sweet, humble, poor guy who didn't have a decent shirt to wear. For the rest of the quarter he would run to catch up with me every day as we went to lower campus and then he was gone from my life and I never knew what happened to him. So poor he had to quit? mission? Total mystery but one of those unforgettable people you meet once in awhile. The football games, basketball games, and the Tuesday Devotionals, I loved them, mostly the apostles came to speak to us. Being able to meet Pres McKay when he came to visit...my freshman year was so full.

Next fall I lived in a house off campus and I didn't like it as well as living in the dorms and it was further to walk. I had to get insets to wear because my arches were breaking down in those flats we wore. But I enjoyed going to the Genealogical Building and my Genealogy Class, big highlight with Archibald Bennett as our teacher. My coat with the fur collar, being pulled on a sled in the snow by a car--the boys from Wyoming who lived across the street. At Christmas I stayed home to help my Dad and then I came back in the spring.

The summer was to be so fun living in Campus Dorm with Ellie, working at the Dairy Freez, picking apples from the BYU Orchard at midnight, gathering around the piano and Janie entertained us and working at the switchboard. The guys would all stop and talk because I was sitting there all alone at night with not many calls to tend to, and I was knitting argyle sox and I was asked on so many dates I couldn't go on because I was working at night either at the Freez or the Switchboard. Unbelievable. In the fall I worked as a proctor in the daytime for the new freshman taking tests and I met Ivan, he was the football player from Tempe, another great guy, we dated all quarter, not sure what happened. That fall I was living in the new Heritage Halls...

Marta and......what did I intend to write here???

Memories of Skiing

Today is a beautiful sunny day that is perfect for cleanup after the recent storms.  As I work for an hour and then have to rest for a half hour or more I am reminded of our skiing days because Richard could only ski for a run or two and then he would have to resst.

We started skiing when Jimmy was about 9 and Richard and I had at least a dozen or so years before we quit and just watched.  I loved those trips where we would all be crammed together for the holidays and Christmas was always a simple affair.

The first trip to Mammoth was a riot.  We had left our rented boots in the car and they were icy cold and stiff.  We could hardly get them on.  Was this fun?  A little painful at first but we learned.  The next year we bought the time shares at Park City and that became our Christmas for many years.

I remember one Christmas Eve we put the turkey in before we left for the slopes and picked up a scrawny tree on the way back to the lodge and the guys took down a door so their was room to sit around the coffee table and have lots of room for everyone.  We were skiing with Martin's family that year.  Those were good times.   This is a picture with Martin's family and Brian and Norma taken at Snowbird.

But Richard would always ski a run or two and then he would have to rest in the snack area at the base of the mountain.  Everyone liked to take a turn resting with him because it meant hot chocolate or nachos or some other treat.  The novice skiiers always had a good skiing partner in Richard.  He was patient and would take the time to help them and encourage them. 

Not like John who talked me into going on a very difficult slope with him.  I skiied to the side, took off my skiis and walked down the hill.  Or the time the children encouraged me to follow them and waited at the bottom of the hill to see how I would do on the jump at the end.  And, of course, the time that someone I was with (Linda?) was very embarrassed when I forgot to get off at the top and they had to stop the ski chairs and help me down.

Lots of good memories from those ski trips.  I am glad we shared that time together as a family.

When You Wish Upon A Star

I never realized what a beautiful song "When You Wish Upon a Star" was until Rod Stewart put it in his Christmas album this year.

 It is the song Jiminy Cricket sings in "Pinocchio".  I also found a darling video version by Linda Ronstadt that she made for a friend who had a new baby--she was giving her lullabies.

Disney include it in their album called "Disney's Greatest Love Songs" and I found the first verse which most versions do not include.

When a star is born
They possess a gift or two
One of them is this
They have the power to make a wish come true

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing 

Like a bolt out of the blue

Fate steps in and sees you through

When you wish upon a star your dreams come through.

Anyway love it sung as a Christmas song--thanks Rod Stewart.

Great Expectations

Recently I watched the movie "Great Expectations" and have been thinking about expectations and the problems that can come from our expectations.

With my music and imagination I live alot of my expectations in my mind.   I have learned over the years not to have expectations of people because they never do or say what you have high expectations for...but in my daydreams is a life rich with my expectations being met.

Some say we can't accomplish anything good without high expectations but others say to have expectations is to always be disappointed but I liked this from "Anne of Green Gables."  (which actually is great reading for adults),  I read of lot of the series last year but anyway the quote:

"Oh, Marilla, looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them." exclaimed Anne. "You mayn't get the things themselves; but nothing can prevent you from having the fun of looking forward to them.  Mrs. Lynde says, 'Blessed are they who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed.'

But I think it would be worse to expect nothing than to be disappointed."

I remember when my  college roommate Colleen and I planned a trip over a break to go to one of the shows in Los Angeles--can't remember now what it was but it all fell through and Colleen was devastated but I told her I had already lived it in my mind so I didn't mind so much.  

I also liked this one-- "It is probably unfair to expect the world at large, or even most people, to see us for all we are.  It is essential, however, that we see ourselves for all we are."   by Victoria Moran "Younger by the Day

 

Oh Christmas Tree, 2012

I haven't had a Christmas tree for a long time and this is a really strange one.  One of the top branches of a tree fell off in the recent storm and it is so perfect I figured out how to make it in to a little tree.  I have so many decorations on it though you can't see it!!!  Mike wants lots of little presents under it...

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....