An Old Friend Calls

Yesterday I got a call from a deep voice that said, "This is one of your old boyfriends, George Samuelson, remember me?"  Of course, we send each other birthday greetings each year, if nothing else, as our birthdays are on the same day.

George and I were pretty inseparable from second to 7th grade and we had our first real date in sixth grade but went to Rec together a lot also.  He had the Put Put car and shared a Hershey bar and the most sought after bubble gum in WWll with me.  I remember our first kiss in 2nd or 3rd grade through his hanky and his sweaty hands when we held hands in the movies in 6th grade.  We have quite a history after that also.

In 7th grade Norma Kay moved to town and became a best friend and also interested George in other girls as well.  We dated once or twice in high school but it just didn't go anywhere.  We both dated other people.  I went out once with him on a college break but we really did not have any chemistry at all.

When I moved to Billings to teach school and try to make it or break it with Harry he called and asked if his girlfriend Suzy could live with me and my roommate as she was working there.  And she did, and she became involved with another guy and married him.  I remember most the long telephone conversations she had with him.  George wanted a few answers from me, he was heart broken.   When I broke up with Harry for the last time in May of 1956 and took the bus to Port Angeles, WA to take a trip with my old roommate Colleen to look for teaching jobs in CA, George drove my car and took the rest of my stuff home to Glendive.  (He took over his Dad's Auto Parts business and did very well financially after graduating from Missoula (where he had met Suzy). When I took the train to San Diego in August he was also on the train with the National Guard and we sat together and commiserated about our losses.  Harry came up to our train car and talked to us both, too for a minute.

George in high school, on the right.

I never saw Harry again except in 1958 for a minute at a basketball game in Glendive when I took Bill home for Christmas until the reunion in 2000.   I saw George once more when I went home for my brother's funeral in the 70's and have not seen him since.  He had married someone else and eventually divorced and Suzy also divorced and he and she reconnected in 1990 I believe in Flathead, MT and married and have been happy and well since I think.  They go back and forth between homes in Arizona and Montana.

Suzy and George, a few years ago

He called to say they were still in Arizona and were going to San Diego for a trip to get out of the heat and wondered if I knew of a hotel near the beach who took dogs.  He had just started looking and of course, I did not know as I never take my dog to a hotel but we chatted.

He said he had recently talked to Andy and Andy had throat cancer.  Andy was my sort of boyfriend when I was a sophomore.  He also said Curt Milne's oldest son had cancer, he lived in Arizona, how said.  Patty J is at a home in  Coeur d'Alene, ID and Hal has an apartment there and visits her every day. He likes living there, but how sad. Sad to here what is happening to all of us in our old age.  Couldn't think of any other recent news about anyone but will keep me posted.  I shared with him my latest adventure with the Big Storm.  He asked about all the family.

Andy behind me, on the right side, I am in the middle

Norm (Andy) at 2000 Reunion

I told George I did not recognize his voice and kept waiting to hear the "George" I knew.  He said I sounded different also.

Hearing about Andy reminded me of the cartoon that was done about us when I was a Jr.  Harry had moved to town and I had been going with him all year.  It is a picture of me sitting on a couch and Harry taking Andy out by the collar and says "Taking Out the Interference".  Then I saw another cartoon which I do not remember noticing before.  It is a picture of four cars parked near the airport with the initials under the cars.  We used to park and neck, like all teenagers I guess.  Although today they do not stop at necking.  The last car has the initials D. K. & B.M. H. and H. B. & J.A. which would have stood for Dean  Kampschorer and Berta Mae Huebl and Harry Becker and Janet Anderson.  I surely do not remember that.  Anyway funny how things make you remember something from so long back.  Andy and I talked a lot at the 2000 Reunion.  He was having problems with his marriage and told Marilyn he thought it was such a waste I was living alone in the mountains.

Cartoon about Harry and Andy (me on the couch)

Parked at the Airport, Harry's car on right

Harry at 2000 Reunion

Maria and Melissa Skills

I was having an interesting conversation with Maria about her work.  She is the highest paid Budget Analyst at her college now!!!  She also developed an Excel Assessment which she used to determine whether or not job seekers really knew Excel.  They all say they do but with this little test she really knew whether they did or not.  It is so good that it was adapted for the other CSU's to use also!!!!

Maria was always so detailed and dug deep to get the answers and figure everything out.  She worked as Richard's special assistant from the time she was a sophomore but she also worked on many projects for him for years before that.  And yet most all the higher learning she did was after she married and on her own or special classes.  She really is amazing.  She says Melissa is amazing, she understands all that and is so creative with her skills as well.  She says the Business graduates from college now really know the Excel program well but she is always having problems with her older lady assistants who either just don't get it or want to get it.  Computer skills are so important, I hope all the grandchildren realize that.

The Birds

Today there were six birds, the two really blue ones I thought might be the new babies and then there was another one added to the mix and the father was chasing him but they all settled on the line again and there was still one more in the house.  So are these the new children or just friends?  So confusing but fascinating.  They surely like Matt's bird house, it is a big one, but how can I ever get it cleaned out???  They will have to do that themselves.

Don't Eat Raw Carrots

While working on my puzzle the other night I wanted something to chew on and remembered the big carrots I had bought.  It wasn't long before I had had enough and also felt that bad thing in my throat when food is caught in there.

Drank hot water and coughed..no luck, then I tried the remedy I had read for phlegm.  Hot lemonade with honey. I sipped on that until it was almost gone and then I started coughing up the carrots.  It was so easy, they just kept coming, I wonder if any got to my tummy at all.  It is called acid reflux so they say, I just know it had not happened for over a year and then it was eating spicy food.

But anyway, DO NOT EAT RAW CARROTS AGAIN!!!

Janet, The Handy Lady

Tuesday night after working for two days cleaning up from the storm I also decided to tackle the dishwasher not draining and the disposal not working.

A quick trip to You Tube for a reminder of how and I learned something new--put a little baking soda and water together and pore down the dishwasher area where I had just cleaned out the screens (where it drains) and then pore vinegar and then hot water down.  It works.  Dishwasher draining.  On Good Morning America the other day the demonstrator lady said it did not matter if you rinsed--ha, she never had debris get stuck in her dishwasher drain.  Of course it matters.  Rinse!!!!  Scrape Off!!!

Then to the disposal.  Tried the thingy on the bottom, did not work, but You Tube showed me where debris usually gets stuck and I found a tooth pick wedged in there!!!  Got it out, and used the broom ( as Richard always did) and the red button and voila, it is working again.  It emphasizes how important it is to pull the plug out before start working on the disposal.  All I need is more chopped fingers...

Anyway You Tube to the rescue for the third time this week, Johnny had directed there me to get the folding door off the dishwasher area earlier.

And now today they are bringing the new washer.  I wonder how many loads to wash I have.  My guest tub is full of all the towels (from cleaning up leaking water and my bath towels) plus all the dish towels, etc.

The hamper is full of jeans and shirts used everyday and during the clean up outside and the laundry bag is full of undies!

I finally bought a laundry plastic basket for $2.47 from Walmart so I can carry wet laundry etc., how have I lived so long without such a cheap but needed thing???

The Beat Up and The Survivors

I have spent the last three days doing clean up, today I am taking a rest and will have to finish bagging another day.  The raking and branch gathering is done.  Many need chopping though.  Still lots of bags today.  Have only four done!

The hardest part was getting all the dirt and mud off of the patio.  I used the hoe (scraping sound) when neighbors were off boating and then the weeder in between the rocks, lots of broom and raking and till finially it was clean enough to put new sand.  I had asked Maryanne to buy play sand from Lowes which was on sale but all she could find was the utility sand.  I am glad because the utility sand almost cements them together and its much more stable and no slipping on the fine sand.  So, lesson learned, do not use the fine sand.  It also has more texture and a darker color between the rocks. Good job, Janet!  Oh, yes, I also used the blower and it worked very well to get rid of some of that mud!

Day after Storm, picnic table is all pitted also

Now

The Beat Up

The Survivors

Of course, it was just a few flowers for me but I thought about the pioneer ancestors who the hail and drought meant whether they ate or not...

My Life Today

So I notice a San Paulo charge of 33 cents on my charge card and six days later a credit of 32 cents. What would you think?  I thought, aha, someone is testing my card and may charge more the next time since it worked.

However, the credit card employee online says it just means that a merchant made a mistake when hand inputting a number on a card and corrects it when it is noticed.  The penny difference is because of currency differences.  What?????

The fraud unit did not consider it significant enough to be fraud so....I lose a penny!!!

Strange world we live in, like many others of the 40s and 50s I often yearn for the simple life of yesteryear.

Other than that, the cleanup is going better than expected.  It is because of the dampness of the area you can rake the branches, etc up fairly easy without a lot of other dirt etc.  The hard part for me is the gathering of the piles.  I could hire someone to take it to the Chester landfill or I can bag it and let it go for free one bag a week, so that is probably what I will do.

The real problem is getting all the dirt out of my sand river rock patio, that does take time.   I can't scrape it when neighbors are home so it is going slowly and it is hard work to push away all the collected dirt around the edges, very hard work.  Where is a good man when you need one? Then I have to clean the dirt out of individual openings.  It would be good if I redid certain low area but that is way too much work.

Thankfully Maryanne was in Chico yesterday and bought me cheaper sand than I can get here, so hopefully by the end of the week, the work will be done.  So far I have raked most all of the yard and blown the front drive and deck and do not feel too bad.  My health regime must be working.

Sunday we had a chapel overflowing.  It is fun to have all the visitors in the summer.  And especially on Fast Day we can hear their stories.  Lots of great testimonies, mostly from men.  Kathy gave an especially great lesson, she is a gifted teacher though her husband says she always worries about it.

Margaret say her husband is doing well, riding his exercise bike and up on the v machine which she says helps him so much.  She is able to walk him around quite well by holding on to his belt.  Bless her heart, I know she is not getting too much help but she is a saint and never complains.

My rest from raking etc is to come in and work on a puzzle while resting.  It is another hard one so quite a challenge.

I talked to Jeanne and she sounds very good, spent the day and night with Brian and Norma in Midway and Jenny and her children were there so really enjoyed it.  She is very healthy with no physical problems.  Marilyn continues to struggle with Arky's anemic condition and has to go in to the hospital for transfusions.  It is hard for her.  Carole and family are at the cabin so haven't heard about her 4th.  I enjoy seeing Keira and Eden on Instagram and You Tube and Kristi had uploaded some new videos, too.  So fun to watch.  She and Mike had a wonderful trip in Costa Rica it looked like, so adventurous!!!

Last week we saw the movie "Max" which was so good.  Wonderful to have such a smart dog.  Sadie is so cute and sweet and smart.  When the dog and neighbor start their walk the dog usually runs over here and Sadie cries to go out, she won't bark, just cries.  I let her out and zooms off.  I notice she never jumps on my neighbor but just stands beside him for a minute before getting greeted and running off with her friend.  After their walk she comes right back.  Good dog.

The birds are still going in and out of their house but today I saw two cute smaller birds on the run line.  Were they the babies emerged?  I can';t tell!!!

Unfortunately the swimming area at Rec 1 is contaminated from the storm and they don't know when it will be ok to swim in the lake there.  Boo hoo...

Two more days to being able to wash again!!!!  What next will go wrong, sooner or later the water heater will give I am afraid...hope the roof doesn't leak and of course, there is the tile on the kitchen conter that gets worse and worse.   So many things that can go wrong...

In the meantime I love being able to listen good music at any time in so many ways...

July 4th

My yard needs lots of work but I am going to put on my makeup and perfume and white pants and spend a lovely day watching the History Channel (free this weekend) and any other thing I choose to watch about Dec of Ind and July 4th and do my puzzle and have a lazy day.  I could go to the parade but I choose not to be in the heat at all today...staying cool and not looking at my mess!!!

I caught up on my blog and then slept late and now I am watching "Sons of  Liberty"--it is good!!!

I ended up watching for 9 hours programs about the birth of our nation and the Constitution..enjoyed the day.

Ever Learning

Here I have tried to hard so figure out how to get the phone pictures to my blog and today I found there is button in my images in picasa and voila there are all my phone pictures.  What a ditz!!!

Here are some cute ones from Meagan!!

 "Annie"

 Goldfish and cotten candy from the fair.

Eden helps tend her auntie's puppy.

Beans from the garden!

A creation by Keira.


Here are some pictures from the Pulsifer trip to the Stewart Ranch.

Tanner and Marissa get engaged!

The Ranch!!

The cutie Stewarts,,,

Looks like a fun trip.

Picture from Melissa...looking good!!

After the Storm

A few made it through the storm..

I think I will wait till all the debris in the yard dries and then blow as much as I can to the side like I did when we had massive needle fall.

How to clean the river rock patio?  Clean the mud or wait till it is dirt?

I think the storm probably cleaned off the hammock better than I could have....all the sticky sap and dirt...now to just brush it off!

Happy to see mother bird saw it through the storm....

Flash Flooding and Hail on July 3

"Yesterday was just awful"--from ANNIE which I watched yesterday and I was in the middle of "Days of Thunder" when it started thundering and lightening and raining hard and then hailing violently and mud was rushing to the patio and down both sides of the yard and I was like a crazy person trying to decide whether it was safe and trying to take pictures and the wi fi on my phone wasn't working and I could not reach anyone.

I finally reached Maryanne and the rain had not hit Chester yet and she was on her bicycle when it did.  I did not realize my phone was not working right.  She could not get me back till a little later but she had not heard about the flood warning either.

I have never seen the water flood quite so violently and fast.  I had seen a note earlier about a flood watch in Plumas County and I discounted it as how could it flood where  I was?  Now I know.  I ruined a lot of pix trying to take them through the window or screen as it was too scary to open the door.

What a mess.  All my plants pretty much ruined, for the moment anyone, if not the whole summer. The lilies were just ready to bloom, bloom, bloom, now it is a lot on the ground.



The yard was looking it's best in years and now is just a big mess to rake up.  What a bummer, life is not fair, I was keeping it up and it was so clean,  but I am safe, so that is what is important right, yeah right.  Scared to death for a few moments though.


I thought the windows were going to break for sure and the roof sounded like it could come through.  Just glad the damage was all in the yard and in the plants, there goes a few bucks down the tubes or I should say street...