So Much To See, To Read, To Listen to--What an Amazing World

Now that the rains and snows are upon us for awhile and our yard is completed I am back into the reading and listening to books and finding interesting shows to watch.

"The Beginners Goodbye"by Anne Taylor was a sobering book about death of a spouse and the actions of the other spouse because of grief that follows.  JK Rowling's adult book was about how quick we are to condemn one another.  In the Swedish film "As It Is In Heaven" a famous conductor with a bad heart has always wanted to produce music that would cause people to show love.  Because of his health he must retire and he returns to his hometown and becomes involved with a small group of people who want to make beautiful music but have never really been there for one another.  Each suffers alone because of some problem that most are aware about but do nothing to help.  It is a very moving movie and I loved the countryside of Sweden it was filmed in.  Here again the emphasis is what lousy human beings we are for one another instead of being loving and caring, we keep our distance and blame and condemn but seldom really love.

A dark comedy is Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe in "A Young Doctor's Notebook" which was taken from an actual notebook written during the Russian revolution.  Very different--we watched Season 1 and Season 2 is not on a station I do not have so will wait to see it later on Netflix I guess.  Some very gross medical scenes but it is strangely comedic.  Produced by BBC, of course.

I am now reading "The Book Thief" and crying most of the way through it.  I may want to watch the movie when I have completed it.  It is a WW ll movie about a little girl 3 years older than myself but living in Germany.  So sad what they went through.

I am also in the middle of "The Husband's Secret" which is very well written about marriage relationships of a few who all end up connected with each other in someway and a murder is involved, it is getting very exciting.  I like the writing so well I looked up the author Liane Moriarty from Australia--yea she has other books to read.  I love to find new authors I enjoy.  The problem is when I like a book I tend to read most of the night and get no sleep. Next day note--another one of those all nighter readings.  Finished the book and one thing at the end I liked was to do all the "What ifs"  -- how our life is determined by even the most minute of choices.  Liked the book, want to read her other best sellers for sure.

With a couple books on my tablet and more on my kindle and having roku with Netflix and Amazon and Hulu Plus, etc. there is always much to read or watch or listen to to put me to sleep.

Today I listened to the Diane Krall station on Pandora all day while I read.  I find it is the most satisfying station for me--jazz, classics, so soothing.

Oh, yes, and I walked today with no pain in my thighs!!!!!  What have I done differently?  Off all grains, legumes, nuts, etc.  Off milk totally.  Taking Vit E and Magnesium in addition to all I regularly take.  So what is it that is working???  Less calcium, more magnesium, not so much inflammation from grains and milk????

If It Isn't One Thing, It Is Another

Last night I went to bed frustrated over a tax situation--I think because of it I had a terrible nightmare and was so happy to wake and find it was just that, a nightmare.  Then today as I was rushing to grab my raincoat out of the bedroom Mitch is in... my arm snagged his fishing pole and I was hooked!!!  All the way into the skin.

Mitch cut the fishing pole loose but we couldn't do more than that because it was embedded in my skin under the long sleeved turtleneck and it hurt.  Guess what-- I was on the way to the Veterinarian and he is a fisherman--maybe he would know what to do.

However, after Sadie had her shots, the Vet did a squeamish pose and said he could not deal with doing anything on humans and I would have to go to Seneca!

Seneca has my regular doctor, the emergency room, other doctors and the Walk-In Clinic with Dr. Tonya--all of them have my fat file.  I am never sure where to go but usually I will go to Dr. Tonya as in the time I cut my finger badly on a can-opening incident, or when I got the shingles, or when my eye was suddenly all inflamed and swollen.   The emergency room handled my dislocation of shoulder and Dr. Nelson all my made ahead appointments except when he was gone and then I had Dr. Wall.  So Dr. Tonya it was again.

She and her assistant appraised the situation and then had to cut my shirt, a lot--numb my arm--probe around with a needle until she had loosened and removed the hook--and then give me a tetanus shot. Yes, they saved the hook but not my shirt.  They did not have a single tetanus vaccine and so it was a tetanus, whooping cough vaccine.  I had to give permission for all this probing, shots, etc., of course. She said the vaccine was especially good if I was going to be around any newborns as there has been over 220,000 babies die from whooping cough this past year.  She said the babies do not get the shots until about 9 months and they are catching it from adults so she said it was good for the adults around babies to get vaccinated.  Well, I have already visited Eden and I doubt I know any other people here having babies but at least I won't get whooping cough myself this year.

What a day, but I did stop at the store and rhubarb was in!!! yea!!! and I cooked some for dessert and ate it all!!  I also snagged two packages of Miller's frankfurters and some Diet Dr Pepper to soothe my nerves.

Oh, and we had snow last night but then it turned to rain and  everything looks beautiful, now it is sunshine... and Mitch had a nice fire going when we came home...very nice.

"Chosen" for Spring Cleanup

The "Chosen" one for Clean-up of all the needles and pods, etc this year was Mitch.  He has been staying here for a couple of weeks while waiting for work in Tahoe.  Mitch drove me back from San Diego and has somehow endured the boring regime at Grandma's house.  He does have his games which he can play on the computer in his room and he can even get Netflix on it if he wants to watch from bed instead of the living room.  But, let's face it, he misses someone and it is lonely here.  So...good he has hard physical work to do!!!

Sadie, of course, oversees the whole operation!

With no snow this year the debris is very dry--here is Mitch as he begins the half acre clean-up.

And here is the finished backyard--so clean, so nice.  The neighbors in back have a new device.  He drives around while two garbage cans are filled with the debris!!!  He dumps it  all in a pile and then someone comes and loads it and takes it away.  Mitch was not so lucky.  It was all rake and fill bags and he filled over 100!!!  Now all we need is a truck.

Here is Mitch, doing what he loves to do, after the last day of cleaning Grandma's yard  for spring.   The front yard looks beautiful, too.  My yard is raked dirt, mostly, with a few greens things here and there. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain.  We are ready.  Mitch already wrote one song while he is here--maybe he is writing another.  Thanks so much, Mitch, love you!

Great Grandma Picture

Meagan was not too happy with this picture of herself still swollen after her C-Section but allowed it so we could have a picture of her girls with her Grandma.  I like it.  I called it "the barefoot girls" because we all had barefeet--San Diego style.

Meagan had so many beautiful pictures of the baby but I especially liked this one of Keira looking at her new sister Eden.

.Do they have eyes alike?  Right now Keira's are darker...and just look at that cute splattering of freckles across Keira's nose.  So precious, both of them.

Home Again!!!

I have been home almost a week and am loving it, sleeping so well, it is so quiet and of course, there is no place like your own bed.  Sadie is snuggled about as close as she can get so I am pushed to the edge of this huge bed and have to keep moving her over.  She is very solid and strong for such a little gal.  She has enjoyed going out and roaming but always comes back.  Of course, there are not many cars around this time of year so it is fairly safe for her.


As a memo to myself, it is March 15th and if I don't like the basic Dish package I have changed to, I should not make any changes for 30 days or there will be a charge.  I finally talked to someone who knows what he is doing I think.  Before when I have asked if I could change to a less expensive package and still use by DVR I was told I was at the lowest program now.  He said, Not so, I can still record and I still have my basic channels so I will try it for a month at least and cut my bill in half and hopefully with all my other Roku options I will have more than enough TV watching.!


We actually had a fairly smooth trip home--straight up 5 where the only slowdown was a section near Ventura where they had miles of one lane but no one working on the other lanes as it was Sunday.  Highway 50 is quite scenic after leaving Sacramento and there was no snow in Tahoe at all except on the slopes where they are probably using artificial snow.  We dropped Hana at a motel that looked very much like the Bates Motel in the series which is so fun to watch.  Unfortunately I will not have A & E so will have to watch it another way.


I felt very energetic and so have worked and rested and worked and rested until I have a clean and orderly house and now will have to start in the yard--lots of raking to do and gathering of branches for my almost empty wood bin. It was good to have Mitch here to help with the high or heavy jobs I couldn't manage alone. The garage has some more stuff that needs to go to the Thrift, too and then life will be back to normal I think.  Two days ago my back was so bad I had to take to couch and bed in the middle of my mess but after a good long rest it was feeling ok again--hope I keep all this energy so I can plow in to some of my many  projects with gusto.  We have tried to get the TV fixed from the Pulsipher house but no luck yet!

Twin Sisters

For some reason all my Netflix recommended films right now are foreign, mostly WWII vintage. "Twin Sisters" is exceptional.   The German girl twins are separated at the death of their parents when they are about 7 and live very different lives because of the homes they are sent to.  However, because of WWII their lives intertwine several times.  It is very sad, romantic, and a reminder of how much one's upbringing determines their destiny.

The following review was given in Rotten Tomatoes.

Dutch family-oriented filmmaker Ben Sombogaart directs De Tweeling (Twin Sisters), based on the best-selling novel by Tessa de Loo. Using black-and-white and color film stocks to establish the interwoven time periods, the story concerns twin sisters who grow up during WWII. In 1926, orphans Lotte and Anna are separated and forbidden to contact each other. Lotte is taken in by a wealthy Dutch couple to recover from tuberculosis and Anna is sent to work on a farm in Germany under the aegis of her uncle. Each woman becomes romantically involved with a different suitor; when the war breaks out, both sisters lose their men. The socioeconomic differences between their experiences drive them to opposite sides of the battlefront once war breaks out. Years later, they reencounter each other again and face the difficult prospect of a long-delayed reconciliation. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Danny and Lani

After I visited the Masseys I walked down the street to the home of Danny and Lani, friends from the late 50's when I came to San Diego to teach.  Lani was talking to a friend on the porch and she immediately said, "Janet!" when she saw me.  Danny was getting ready to go to lunch with a friend when Lani called to him that I was there.  He asked for her assistance, "I can't let Janet see me with my walker."  Lani and I were talking about why the Christmas decorations were still up when we heard Danny say, "The heart can only stand so much, Janet is here."

Evidently Danny had been in the hospital for a couple weeks starting on December 13 and he was still recouping from an injured back.  Lani had put the Christmas decorations out and they were still celebrating the Christmas they missed by being in the hospital so much.  He was apologetic that the yard was not weeded as usual because he still could not bend down, but he was giving instructions to Lani to be sure and show me his '40 Mercury in the garage and other pictures of his restored vehicles before he walked out the door to lunch with his friend.  Lani was her usual happy, giving self, doing all he wanted.

He gave me a big hug, and said "Not like the last time we locked lips."

In 56 when I came to teach in San Diego with my friend Colleen we were part of about 17 new teachers that had come from Utah colleges to teach school in San Diego.  We all ended up in 4th Ward on Hamilton--there were only six other wards in San Diego and 4th Ward was the Stake Hall. There were also about 15 or so Navy boys who came in each Sunday to church there, too.  They were returned missionaries who now had to do their draft time in the Navy.  Then there were the San Diego locals like Danny and Carol, etc. There were probably about 35 to 40 of us young adults going to this ward and having dances on Saturday nights and firesides and potlucks on Sunday and other youth activities like the beach and mountain parties, etc so it was a very fun time in San Diego.

During the three years this was going on before I met and married Richard in October of 59 there were a lot of romances and break ups among the group.  Marta married Quinton and Colleen married her Navy pilot and Lani married Danny, Norma married Ray and there were several others, too.  I have a picture of Lani in her wedding dress in my blog here somewhere.  She was so beautiful.  I remembered the Christmas that Lani and I were the only ones left with no where to go for Christmas. We ended upon Christmas Eve driving to Orem, Utah so she could spend Christmas with relatives and I could spend Christmas at Jeanne's.  Lani was always a delight to be with, she taught school and then substituted until just last year!!

In the first year Norma got us all together to put on a play (Danny remembered the title) but I didn't. He wants me to send him copies of the pictures I posted a few blogs back.  He played my son and my hair was floured to look grey and I wore a sophisticated dress and Bob was my husband in the suit. We had to kiss in the play but Danny and I had an impromptu (much better kiss) behind the curtains. He flirted with me for three years but Lani was crazy for him and eventually they married after Richard and I had married and moved to Pacific Beach.

He has kidded Meagan and Matt about me since they moved nearby and was always playfully upset I did not come down to visit them.  The last time I saw him was when I was walking in La Jolla with Maria and Linda when they were in grade school.  He was driving by in a SDGE truck and yelled out the window--Hey, Janet.  Anyway, always a fun guy.  He had brought me to his home in '56 to meet his Mom and show me the Japanese hut and pond, etc he had built on the side of the canyon.  I thought this was the house he and Lani were living in but it was not.

Lani told me they had been living in an apartment down the street and he told her to find a house to buy, a big house with a big yard, he was not coming with her.  She said she found a five bedroom house with a small yard and a smaller house with a really large yard.  They bought the latter, for the big yard which Danny wanted.  She showed me Danny's restored Mercury first.  The garage was filled with trophies and pictures of all the car shows he had been to and won--he restored one car, sold it and then another, etc.  Beautiful work. When I knew him in '56 he had bought a new Chevy and polished it every night after work, kept it meticulous.

Then she showed me the rest of the yard--large tif-green yard with a couple patios, ponds (there also had been a Japanese hut but it was burned in a fire 20 years ago) and a very large beautiful pool in full sun, another deck and then property that is theirs all the way down the canyon, a huge yard!!! They have 19 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

Anyway it was a fun visit and Danny wanted me to come back when he was there but I told him I was leaving Sunday and not going to drive the freeway out there again.  Maybe they can stop by when they go to an autoshow in Redding.  He comes up to the August nights in Reno all the time, too.  Small world.  I have seen those restored cars drive on Highway 36 in the summertime.  Never thought Danny might be one of them.

New Baby Eden

Visiting the Masseys and holding new Great Grandchild Eden--so precious.

Sadie Abandons Her House

I guess it is time, Sadie has earned the right to sleep with me.  She always tells me if she has to go outside.  She does not chew my shoes anymore,   She does not tear up the toilet paper.  She is just one smart dog with good manners.  This last week she has been sleeping on top of the covers but as close as she can get.  It kind of feels good to feel that solid warmth next to me.  She also likes to reach up and give a kiss on the cheek.  She is a sweetie.

The only time she runs to her house (7 ft kennel) is when she sees me reach for my purse.  She knows I am going in the car and she does not want to go!!!  She has always had a little problem with car sickness but I just took her with me to drive Sarah to school this morning and she was ok.

When I left Lake Almanor last month and drove through the canyon to Melissa's house she had thrown up all over my red quilt.  Of course, it is a winding road and she had eaten.  Secret to leaving for Lake Almanor from here on Sunday is "do not let Sadie eat anything before we leave".  I remember Bandido never wanted to eat while we traveled either, but she do like to go with me in the car everywhere I went.

Thank heaven for Sadie, she is the one constant love in my life.  Why can't we all be like dogs--so forgiving, so loving, so comforting, and when I talk to her she really tries to listen and understand.  She perks up her ear as if she really will understand me and looks me in the eyes, as if to say, I hear you, I'm here for you..  When she is hungry she gently taps me on the arm, when she wants to go outside she stands by the door.  I really should be more consistent about walking her, that is a good resolution for the New Year.

She did know how to sit and lie down and walk slowly beside me but I did not keep it up and now I will need to start all over if I want her to do the tricks.  She was also shaking hands fairly well.  Sweet Sadie, what a joy. she does want to please.

Today she wanted to go back to bed after I breakfasted and cleaned the kitchen and she stood poised in the hallway waiting for me, the way Bandido used to do.

New Baby and Shirley Temple

Hopefully I will get up to see the new baby this week and more pictures will come.  New babies are the most exciting thing that happens to us in our lives I think.  They are so perfect in every way and such a joy to hold and behold.   I am so happy for the Masseys.  Still haven't heard the new name, guess they are getting acquainted with her so they can pick a name that fits her. 

I was named after a movie star but Janet is not a popular name anymore, I never really liked my name.  I would often pronounce it with a French flair as in Ja- nay with a long a sound.  Myrna always called me Janney.  In college I changed it to Jan and that is what my old boyfriend Bill still calls me.  But it is difficult to choose the right name.  John and Linda came easy--Linda was a teenage girlfriend of a neighbor and she was so pretty and I loved the name and the song called "Linda".  John's middle name was my grandfather and I just liked the name Eric.  With Maria it was harder, we had chosen a different name and then a friend of mine had a baby and used that name!!! 

But Maria was popular in the movies and I later found it was a name we had in our Swedish heritage also, still it took longer to name her.  But wow, look at all the songs about Maria.  James was easy, too, even though there were other James Hardy's I just liked the name and his middle name is after Richard's brother Scott who had passed away and a name I liked also--but he was always Jimmy and John was Johnny for many years and the Las Vegas cousins still call him that.  My father called Linda, Linda Poo, for some reason, not Linda Sue. And Sue was a popular name in the movies at that time, too.  Interesting how movies stars can make or break a name.

Today I didn't do any of the things I planned to do but I did watch a couple of films about Shirley Temple.   The first was a movie made in around 2001 I believe.  I don't remember ever hearing about it so maybe it was on TV and not in the theaters.  It was not that good because as talented as the little girl playing Shirley was she could not duplicate the magic that was Shirley.  It was also obvious how gifted Shirley was at such a young age and what a really adorable child she was.  Another clip I watched compared Shirley's scenes to child stars who played her later in movies about her and there was just no doubt she could not be duplicated in any way.

Then I found "Shirley Temple, America's Little Darling" and it was excellent.  Child stars who worked alongside her and other movie stars and movie leaders at the time talked about her and why she was so unique.  She could not be duplicated and there has never been any other like her.  I was happy to find out what a positive influence her mother was and how strong she was in protecting her in every way.  Several expressed how different she was from every other child stars in that she was just Shirley being Shirley and not acting.  Her mother had been a dancer and really taught her a lot about dancing and her mother went over her lines with her every night and the next day Shirley would know everyone's lines.  She did not realize that she was not living like other children, it was all just natural and enjoyable to her what she was doing. President Roosevelt said how wonderful it was that for 15 cents we could go to the movies and smile and laugh and find joy when life was so hard and sad during the long depression.  She was very protected though because she was money to so many.  She saved the studio who was nearly bankrupt and was a bigger draw than all the popular adult stars at the time.  They were lucky to get into a movie with her so they could be successful.

The Davis family from around the corner had come over Saturday so the children could meet Sadie and ask to walk her and then the two twins sat and talked to me and I showed them some clips of Shirley and that is what got me to thinking about her today.

Newest Great Grandchild

Born at 12.49 today, 7 lbs 14 oz 

California Dreaming

So I just finished working on my budget for 2014.  How depressing.  I am back to where I was in 1999--living on Social Security with no job. How impossible.  When I bought my house in 1998 John said I could not afford a house.  How right he was.  People on SS or minimum wage cannot afford a house, a car or a dog.  So what do they do?  What do I do? Go without, beg, borrow, steal?  Maybe all but the latter!!!  It got me to thinking in the night, if I played the lottery and won the lottery what would I do with my money? This is really quite a fun exercise.

First, I would pay off every one of my descendant's student loans and any other debts they had--including my own.  Secondly, I would see that everybody over 25 had a home and new car of their own and I would buy a second home by the beach.  Then I would have my kitchen counters redone and the whole house painted inside and out.  But before that, I would have the front deck and roof extended---I liked that idea when John suggested it and I would put in a Jacuzzi somewhere.  How about another window put in the side of the house or good skylights built in so there is more light.  I would probably replace the carpets in the bedrooms and buy new quilts.  Hmm, what else?  Replace the tubs with showers?  Maybe one because I still like my bubble bath or if I had a Jacuzzi, would I need that?  l would throw out all the old pots and pans and start over--same with kitchen dishes and glasses--

And I would work harder on losing some weight and exercise so that I would look good when I saw myself in the three way mirrors at the stores and all the clothes I tried on looked great!!!  You should shop at least once a month so you realize what you really look like!!!

I would not care to travel anymore but maybe high definition TVs and also mirrors on the closet doors and ceiling fans in the other bedrooms and how about a new desktop computer that was really fast and I could Skype easier.

And how about replacing all the garden areas with good soil so everything grows better--while I am wishing.

I could even fence an area to keep the deer out and grow some veggies!!!!

OK, that is enough, back to reality and what's for breakfast--as Scarlett said, "I will think abut it tomorrow."

Rained all day and I watched a very touching movie "Unfinished Song"--about a Senior Center, singing, and death of your loved one and being left alone--Vanessa Redgrave is amazing at her age.

A Day of TV

I finished the French series of "Count of Monte Cristo" today and I think they did a great job of being authentic to the book.  Now I understand yet another version is being made in Hollywood.  I am interested to know who will be the "Count".  I liked how at the end he is trying to forgive instead of just seek revenge and is that really how the book ended?  I can't remember, I better read it again.

I also watched "In the Land of Blood and Honey" which I missed first time around.  I have to believe that Angelina is one smart cookie.  I know she took a lot of criticism but I think she did a great job of presenting the way things probably were and yet showed the warmth and evilness of both sides. What atrocities in the world, though...man at his worst.

I may not finish 'Casual Vacancy'--I am not really enjoying all the unpleasantness of so many people. It is a rather jaded look at people or is it reality????

I also prepared for the days of rain expected and did a run to Walmart.  Five days of rain and snow in the mountains is expected.  We may go home to snow after all.

Later I watched "Remembrance" a based on true story about a Polish guy and a Jewish girl who escaped from a Nazi camp and then later became separated.  She was pregnant and he did not know it.  They each thought the other died only to discover 30 years later they are both alive.  The movie ends with them about to meet so your imagination can run wild.  Does she leave her husband and stay with him?  Can they even converse or care about each other?  Did she tell her daughter who the real father was--did the daughter get to meet him?  I am sure there is more to the story...

Small World Elicits More Memories

Small world again!!!  The Pulsiphers were invited to the neighbors house for dinner and I opted to stay home.  Lo and behold the husband is the son of a former acquaintance whom I had dated a couple of times in 1959 in San Diego and known for awhile.  I remember that week well.

I had just come back from BYU and moved into a new place.  It was purposely an apartment upstairs as I felt safer and a young couple with a baby lived next door.  Both Colleen and Marta were now married.  I had broken up with Bill (we were planning marriage and then broke up). It was the religion  problem again.  My parents were going to meet us in Salt Lake City and so drove on down to see how I was.  It was late May I think.  I have written about that strange episode earlier so skipping to this week I returned from BYU.

I went to church Sunday night and all my friends were there.  Norma had written there was a new guy in the ward she wanted me to meet.  I said, "No". It was Richard, and he immediately came up after the meeting and introduced himself and asked if I would go to the Fireside with him.  I told him Danny had already asked me.  Sometime Clinton (the father of the neighbor) asked me to go golfing on Saturday morning and Bob asked me to go to a movie on Wednesday.  I had been dating Bill, a nonmember for a few years, and was suddenly "available" and that is why I was getting rushed.   Monday was Labor Day and Richard took me to Balboa Park but  he asked for another date and we settled on Friday night.   He knew I had these other dates. Tuesday we were decorating for something at Mutual and I remember talking to all of them.  We were all in transition.

Danny had been dating Lani, but was unsure about marriage yet and was always flirting with me,   We had been in a play together and I played his mother!!  He even visited me when I had my wisdom teeth out and brought me ice cream.  Clinton had been dating a girl but really wanted to date her roommate I found out when we decided we did not have any chemistry but enjoyed talking only.   We had gone golfing and on one other date before I found this out.  Richard had broken up with a girl sometime before he came to San Diego and had been dating another in San Diego before I came back in August.  Bob was getting ready to get out of the Navy and had asked me out before.  We were all friends as there was only one Stake at that time and we all went to the Saturday night dances.  I used to bring Bill when he would come with me but we often sailed on Saturday and Sunday afternoon if there were races so we were not always there.

Anyway I remember encouraging Clinton on our last date (as I was now having feelings for Richard) to never mind the code of not dating the roommate of a former girl you had dated.  If he felt that strongly about her, he should ask her out.  He did and they later married.  He was Temple President when Richard died and when my children and I went to the Temple a few days later it was so crowded but his wife intervened and brought us to the front of the line and had more chairs added so we could immediately get into a session.  I always appreciated that kindness to us.

Anyway Danny married Lani and lives down the street from Meagan.  Richard took me to meet his mother the second week after he met me.  He thought all the guys were after me and he dropped all other dating and concentrated on me.  He was a "Take Charge Guy" and I pretty much let him take charge of my life.  The neighbors next door said "some guy keeps running up the stairs to see if you are home".  He was an appraiser for a bank so I guess when he was in the area he would check to see if I was home.  A strange think about chemistry.  I remember Richard and I felt very comfortable together and I would let him hold my hand that first day.  Whereas the other guys I did not want them to even touch me.  Except Danny and I had chemistry but I never thought of him as marriage material for some reason, just a fun guy to flirt with...

I don't know what happened to Bob.  He was such a nice guy and really thought I was the one for him.  At any rate I was living alone, teaching school with no chance of time off and Richard had just started a new job, etc. etc. etc.  so we married on a Friday evening six weeks after we met and were back to work on Monday morning and lived at my place for about a week before we moved to a bigger place where Richard had been living with a roommate and the roommate moved out.  It was in Normal Heights and I was teaching at Hamilton School not too far away.  I taught school till the end of the term and then we moved to Pacific Beach on Felspar.  Loved living there!!!  Richard had changed jobs and was working for a firm in La Jolla, rather than downtown.   It was all a whirlwind with Richard managing everything...I let him handle everything until he had his heart attack in 1969 and then I stepped up to become more of a partner than a princess being taken care of...I always liked being a princess.

Oh, yes, the other funny thing that happened.  After our first Friday night date Richard was just saying good night to me at the top of the stairs when Bill appeared and Richard had to leave.  I think that further pushed him to drop everything else and pursue me.  Who knows...

Danny as the son, me as the Mom

Bob was fourth from right--oh and John second from right I dated prior to Bill--a lot of singles in the ward.

Norma is on the right end and Danny, fourth from the left.

Bill

Richard

Living the Good Life

It has been a long time since I posted, I must be living a busy life...I am!  The days are whizzing by and it will soon be time to head north.  I am going early as Mitch and Hana need a ride up and Hana will be dropped off at Tahoe and Mitch will stay for a while.  He is trying to get work in Tahoe with Matt but it probably will not start until April. 

Matt has been here and I have eaten out with him, Maria, Linda, Linda and Gary, and James.  So far I have had Fish tacos about five times since I have been here, a couple of Paneras salads, tacos at Jack in the Box, Strawberry shakes, hot fudge sundaes from McDonalds, Pizza twice at Blaze (gluten free)Tortilla soup from Chilis, wonderful salad from the Yellow Deli and yesterday Linda and I went to Meagan's after going to the Temple and Linda bought Mexican and Sprinkles cupcakes for lunch.  I needed to deliver a present for Keira's third birthday.  Naturally my camera did not function.  Keira really liked the Press Me book I had bought.  I was trying to pick one out at Barnes and Noble and this Grandma told me her grandchildren loved that one--what a surprise as it is just dots of color, but it is interactive and Meagan said Keira had to read it twice more and then took it to bed with her flashlight so I guess it is fun for children.

Tonight everyone is coming to Linda's for another get together as Matt is leaving next week and hasn't seen everyone.

James and I saw a stupid movie "Winter's Tale" while everyone else went to the Lego movie--we should have gone there.  What a lot of driving we had to do though, picking up friends and driving to the movie and then back to take Sarah and I home.  It is so much driving in the city.

Wednesday Matt had free lunch coupons for "Veggie Girl"--that was different, I had a Kale salad and it was good but I do not think I would choose it over Rubios Fish Tacos, or Paneras salads, or Chilis tortilla soup... 

Today Sadie goes in for grooming.  She had a bad upset last weekend and it cost me a fortune at the Vet's but she is well and happy again.  She had bad diarrhea for about 4 days and I could not resolve it...

I have been enjoying the Olympics, American Idol, and reading and listening to so many books...I have nothing but fun things to do--it will be hard to get back home and have a house to tend!!!

Good Food and Interesting Memories

Last Sunday I ate at Maria's.   We first sat in the Jacuzzi and enjoyed the sun, surf and Jacuzzi all at the same time.  Then Maria deep fat fried cut up corn tortillas and sprinkled them with sea salt while Matt made guacamole with onions, tomatoes, mangoes and spices.  Wow, this was so good.   Maria had also slow cooked chicken with salsa all day and was that ever delicious!  Nice day.

Friday night everyone came over and Gary cooked hamburgers and brats on the barbecue at the community pool--Maria brought more chips and drinks, Kelly brought yummy guacamole, Camber brought salads and Linda brought all the extras for hamburgers plus lemon bars and Kelly and I each brought cookies.  Great food again.  Hard to get enough of those brats!!!  Enjoyed being with all the family down here yet again.

Today one of my former Primary students and daughter of friends I first met in 1956 when I came here spoke in church about Religious Freedom.  It was an excellent talk and she said she would email me a copy,  I hope she does.   Later I talked to the grandson of people I knew in La Jolla in the sixtys. They were both doctors and the wife was an immunologist.  She had a famous clinic in regards to cancer cure.  In order to earn money toward a youth event I donated my blood at the clinic.  This was a little different from the usual blood donating.  I had to go to the clinic a couple of times for testing and then the donation was done live from donor to recipient.  It took a long time and I remember the lady was from Great Britain.  It netted $50 for our youth group!!!   What a small world.

Another person I recently remembered was a Jackie I worked with in the 80's.  She was the manager of Ameristar, a Mortgage Banker we brokered loans, too.  She and I had become quite well acquainted and she told me she was the daughter of Joe Louis!  Joe Louis was a famous boxer in the pre WWII years and after, too.  He was a hero of the nation and was the World Heavyweight Champion, having beat a boxer from Germany.  In the documentary I watched this week  I learned why Jackie had a different last name than Louis.  Joe Louis dropped his last name Barrow when he first starting boxing in the 30's.  He was also divorced from Jackie's mother when Jackie was only about three or four years old according to the documentary. She was a darling little girl, but I got the idea that she had not seen her father too much while she was growing up.  As I say, it is a small world.

Yesterday Linda and I saw "Frozen" since we had both missed it.  It was very enjoyable.  Prior to the movie we went to a Mex restaurant Maria and I had gone to a few years ago and I thought it was good.  Woe to us, neither of our dishes was that great for San Diego Mex food so they are crossed off our list of places to eat.

I talked to Maryanne in Chester today and she said it is 62 degrees up there!!!  She has lived there since 1966 and she said there has never been a winter like this!!!! I am sure when I return the snow will come but by then it will melt easily...we need the moisture so badly.

Birthday Beach Bash

Saturday afternoon on the 25th we gathered to celebrate my birthday.    Me, the Pulsiphers, the Rasimas families (two) plus Michelle and son James and friend, and eventually the Hardys. the children enjoyed the sand and surf--adults enjoyed basking in the the late afternoon sun (until it goes down)...but so beautifully it goes down, a joy to watch and I get it on camera..

Sue and childen

Maria, Johnny's Mom Sue, Johnny, Johnny's sister Michelle

Maria, Linda, Gary and Bob

Maria and Michelle..

Sue--we had a baby shower at my PB house before she had Michelle in the 60's!

Linda

Doesn't get nicer than that--California Dreamin...

.

Gary and Sarah enjoying Linda's yummy food.

Sarah looks up!

 

Birthday girl at 81--I look like my Mom!  Beautiful daughters.

The sun is almost gone--it's gonna get cold...

How many birthdays ahead?  Who cares--seize the day!

 

The Hardys arrive just in time to eat what is left...

Camber and Michelle,,,

Brrrr--time to go home--Good Night!

Happy Birthday Cupcakes

Wow, I have not been feeling well. Last week I stayed at James and Camber's house while they were gone and little Jimmy was sick with a fever, headache, etc.  By Thursday when I came home I had the same thing but I am finally over it!!!  I also decided I can't handle being a nanny anymore--my feet and legs get too tired especially in such a big house.  I enjoyed the children though, all so very sweet and helpful,  but didn't see too much of Lea and Jacob.  Since I will not drive them to their schools anymore, they find alternative housing when rides are needed.  The first two days Kelsi and I were there alone and we spent most of the time watching "Hannah Montana" on Netflix.  At the end of the second day, Kelsi said, "This has been the best two days of my life, just watching TV."  Sometimes we need days like that.

While I was there Meagan and Keira came over with gluten free cupcakes and presents on my birthday. Keira didn't miss a beat, when her mother told her to give me the presents she handed one to me and said, "This one is for you and this one is for me."  Her mother had to remind her that, "No, both of the presents are for Grandma."  She found a couple of fishing poles on the deck though and they were more fun than any old present anyway.

Meagan used the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Mix and they were really good--I will have to stock up on that before I go home. Meagan added to my Paper Doll collection with Beyonce (who I really admire by the way) so that was fun.  So surprised paper dolls are still being made!!!  I also received a darling note pad with my name on it--and I really need to make lists now, so very apropos!  Gorgeus day on the deck.

Camber has some great sofa table books and Keira enjoyed one before she left.  It was a fun birthday party.  Can hardly wait till the end of February when Keira will have a new sister!

Sadie and Bear also enjoyed a sleep on the deck on my birthday.  It was a beautiful sunny California day!

Happy Birthday, Janet

Written early in the morning from the RSF home of James and Camber.

It is just about 81 years to the exact moment I was born.  My mother wrote it was early on a Sunday morning and Dad had to shovel the snow away from the driveway before they could go to the hospital.  It was the depression, everyone was poor.  It cost my parents $25 for my birth.  What a great investment!!!

I don't feel 81, sometimes I feel 6, sometimes 16, rarely do I feel 80 although I often feel like an old lady as my knees hurt when I have to stand from a low chair, or my back aches as I get out of bed or my legs ache as I walk a little ways.

What ponderous thoughts do I have as I face this new year, this morning it was Which is the right side of the bed?  Is it your right side as you are laying in the bed or your right side as you are at the foot of the bed looking at the bed?  I was wanting to tell Camber what side of the bed I slept on--actually which edge of the bed I slept on as one or two dogs got as close as they could to where I was supposed to be sleeping.

And where is the most perfect place in the world?  I finally decided it was when you were sleeping in your own bed.  What is it that is so wonderful about your own bed, even if it is not as luxurious as a grand hotel?  I don't know but it surely is the most perfect place in the world for me.  My bed is actually probably over 40 years old  because I remember we bought the electric mattresses at the San Diego Fair in the 70's because we thought it would help my back problem.  It was actually a godsend to both of us as Richard needed his head up because of his throat problem and I needed my feet up.  I should probably write a testament to the mattress company for the great longevity of their mattresses . Of course, I have since covered the duo with the thick foam pad from Costco which makes it more comfy, too.

It seems we made some of our best purchases at the San Diego Fair, we were both together, relaxed and had time to hear the sales pitch.  We bought my Singer Sewing Machine that served me well for so many years and we bought the first large, large, projected screen TV for our play room.   They always had fabulous prices at the Fair for big items like that.  For some reason we never bought the expensive blender that we watched the demonstration on so often.  Now all the children have them for their smoothies it seems.

Another thing I was pondering this morning is the great life we had as children and high schoolers in Glendive, Montana.  I think my childhood and youth was far superior to my children, grandchildren or great grandchildren.  Yes, they have the techy age with all the wonderful TV and games but nothing can be as wonderful as the freedom we had to explore and find joy in very long term friendships, hiking, imaginative play, swimming, sledding, ice skating, bowling, dancing, sports--just about everything all without needing to be transported by our parents, we just had to walk out the door and down the block or over the tracks to hills and creeks--all with little or no supervision.  We had wonderful home cooked meals on a regular basis and home made ice cream, cinnamon rolls, root beer, bread.  We wanted for nothing that we knew of...

As children we never had home work until we were in high school and we could usually do that in study hall. The afternoons were ours to do as we please and it was spent with friends, what a great life we had with nobody wanting us to do too much but keep our rooms clean, the lawn mowed, dishes, the living room dusted or vacuumed, etc. Life was simple.  School started at 9--we had 1 hr 20 minutes to go home for a big dinner and then could play from 4 to 6, usually outside with Annie I Over, tents, push cars, sledding, running and hiding games (can't remember the names) or maybe inside with jacks, paper dolls but we always had plenty of friends, could walk to each others houses or the pool or the ball fields or or or...what a great life with no TVs, computers, cell phones, tablets.


And, yes, our parents only had a general idea where we might be at any given time but nothing tragic happened to us with all our freedom.  Well, there was the train accident, and a few drownings, and car accidents but it was mostly to older kids who should have known better or were drinking...something I never chose to do.  Oh, yes, and the library was always a favorite of mine to go to anytime and take home books or sit and look at the photos.  What were those gadgets called we put up to our eyes?  I can't remember.   In high school our hours were more like 8 to 3 so more time for work or play in the afternoon.  We would always go to a gas station where a boyfriend was working or a the drugstore for sodas and ice cream or the bakery for apple turnovers or doughnuts. Oh, yes, but Mom made doughnuts, too, so good.  And later we did have the drive ins for movies, hot dogs, and eventually hamburger drive-ins, what good hamburgers they were, the real deal.  It was easy to find an after school job, too, for extra money for buying records and such.  I worked at our store Anderson's but I also caddied at the golf course, and worked as a soda jerk till they found I was only 15.

My Mom had six children to raise but she always had time for her golf, grey ladies, bridge, dancing at the Elks Club, fishing, going to Silver Gate.  My parents did not appear to be weighted down by life but really enjoying it.  They attended all the games and dances, etc at the school.  Dad was in the Chamber of Commerce, on the School Board, Elks, lots of activities besides running our little church meetings.  I think they had a very rich life...just wish Dad had lived longer and Mom not quite so long.

In high school we did a lot of driving around, gas was cheap, it was a part of our social life, dragging main or riding around town or out in the country.   We actually had a lot of exercise without jogging, too, we were all very fit I think.

Johnny Manning taught most of us to drive in his car.  I don't remember it ever being my parents job to do that, of course, we had the Drivers Training at school, too, and Auto Shop where the boys learned to take care of cars and Home Ec where we learned to sew and cook.

Oh, well, that is the nice thing about old age, the past always looks great but aren't we lucky to have such happy memories, even though we have been through depressions, wars, heartbreaks, and hard times, the happy memories or family and friends enjoying life together is what comes through.  Very little of our life was spent in singular pursuits on techy things.  We read alone, or listened to our music alone sometimes, though it was usually with others, too.  Our records, house parties, games, lots of talking, plenty of time to talk face to face.  There was a lot of face to face with lots of friends.

It seems I have had the best of all worlds in a small town till I turned 18 and in the city when I was a young adult, living on the plains, by the sea and then in the mountains.   And always having Church as a big part of my life with wonderful associates and leaders there.  Yes, it would have been nice if Richard had lived a little longer and I would not have been alone for so long, but I did have many different experiences, travels, living arrangements to mix my life up a little when I was alone.  Now I am just ready for a slow down, peaceful pace enjoying hearing about the pursuits and successes of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren but not actually in the day to day frey...I love that my children let me stay with them awhile in Southern California and the beach life and then off and way to the mountains and lake and quiet.   It's been a great life.

My Friend Myrna

I wrote the following in 2007 about my childhood friend Myrna Graves Conner.  We met when I was in second grade and our family had moved from the south side to the Heights of Glendive, Montana.  She passed away Saturday, January 18th.  She was 81 years old.  I will miss talking to Myrna--we would sometimes chat for an hour about the old times and our current families.  Seems the end of an era for sure without her.


Her nephew Kent said there was probably not a day in her life that she didn't laugh and enjoy life.  I think that is true.  Always when we would talk and commiserate about being alone, she would always express thanks to God for all the many blessings in her life.  She will be missed.

 ;

The word "Heartaches" 

reminded me of my friend Myrna who I stay with when I travel back and forth to San Diego. She lives just off the freeway in a beautiful home in Manhattan Beach. This song

"Heartaches" was one of her favorites in high school when she was going through a heartbreak romance. She also loved "My Blue Heaven". Funny how songs remind you of people and places. Here she is with Eddie, a neighbor in Glendive, at our 2000 high school reunion. They were not a romantic couple but were the best jitter buggers in our high school!

Myrna had to work from an early age in Kaplan's, the dress shop next to our store Anderson's, so she missed out on a lot of the after school happenings. She was such a great clerk because she is a people person and took an interest in all of their customers. Myrna is such a people person that she had and still has friends of every age. She is everyone's best friend, with a very compassionate heart and kindness for all. She has a fantastic memory and knows all about each of us. We all think she is our best friend... and she is!

Myrna had some heartbreaking moments in her life but persevered over all. Unfortunately the "love of her life" passed away in 1993 and they did not have enough years but she was so happy those years together in Manhattan Beach. Now she lives alone with a daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters near and two stepsons and their wives and two grandsons a little further away.

Myrna had the smallest waist of all of us. We made these ballernina skirts that were a full circle and so fun to dance in. Myrna's mother worked but I remember her being so fun to be around, always laughing and joking. Myrna and her mother made this fabulous boiled white frosting and chocolate cake and the best divinity. Myrna is still a great chef today and it is always a pleasure to eat whatever she is dishing up. My favorite outing with Myrna at her church was Easter Sunrise Service and then to the basement of the church for scrambled eggs, sausage, hot cross buns and orange juice and then we would go wake up our Catholic friends...Even though we had our own church in our home on Sunday nights, I went to the Methodist Church with Myrna. Her aunt was our Sunday School teacher when we were in grade school.

A really fun adventure in junior high was to travel by open truck (We were all in the back--against the law today) all the way from Glendive across Montana to Livingston for a Church Camp.

It was really fun--here we are discussing the weighty things of the world, Raine, Myrna, Myself  and
 Eddie. On the way back to Glendive the back of my jeans came unstitched at the back seam and so I tied my fringe jacket around my waist and said I was too hot to wear it--actually it was freezing in the open truck!

We also joined LTL (Loyal Temperance League) and signed our names that we would not smoke or drink. I was probably one of the few who never did.


Written later...


Myrna called me to tell me that she never signed the LTL pledge to not smoke or drink! I didn't remember this. Mrs. Lowe, a church biddy, called and reported to Myrna's mother that Myrna had refused to sign the pledge. Her mother asked if Myrna had said why. "She said she didn't know what she was going to do when she grew up." "There's your answer!" her Mom said and that was that. And Mrs. Lowe never spoke to Myrna's mother again.

Sadie Gets Groomed for the City Life

All in the Family

Great picture after a great party--Happy 2014!  Missing is Mike in Baltimore, Matt in Tahoe, Tanner in Philippines, Craig in Santa Monica, Kristi, Mike, Kate, Ryan, Brynn and Molly in Henderson