Pretty Mermaids

Maria is always looking for interesting things to do in her search for JOY this past year and so she and Linda ended up in this Mermaid exercise class at the Hotel Del Coronado.  They said it was great fun and don't they look beautiful!  

Great Grandchildren Rule

The Stewart children go hiking with Grandma and Grandpa Pulsipher and Craig and Sarah in Carlsbad.

Meagan felt it was very important for her daughters to be at the Womens March on January 21 so here they are with Nico in toe and Dad to help and a Love sign to show their allegiance.  

 These will be cute pictures for them to look back upon someday and say, "I was there."

Eden gets the blue eyes and fair Irish skin and both the girls have the same kind of freckles I did.  So cute.

Snow, Snow, Snow

Today we took a walk in the snow and it was so beautiful.

I stopped by the wall of snow from the snowplows and it is way above my head already.

84 Years Old!

Carole sent me a throw for my bed, love it!!  And I got money, one of my favorite things and a cute little shawl topper.

And the Snow Descends!

Along Came Bill

This was interesting on Facebook.  Bill's daughter Sara had a repeat of her wedding with all the family present, looks like it was a wonderful celebration.  

The lady in the green short dress is Bill's first wife and the lady in black, second to end on the right, is his third wife and the lady in black next to him in the center is his second wife and mother of the bride, Sara.  I think Bill has dementia or ? as the last few times I talked to him in 2012 or 2013 he was confusing me with the other women in his life.

He had six children, three boys with first wife, one daughter with second wife and daughter and son with third wife and they are all friends...wives, children and so on,  so this is a very interesting family picture.  Beautiful people and Bill had a beautiful soul.  The last time I saw him in early 1990s he was divorced from second wife and about to make the leap to third wife.  The last time I was talking to him he was on the way to divorce but not sure it ever happened.  He is probably about 85 or 86 now.  He once told me that his two first wives were both millionaires and friends with his third wife.  He told me I was very lucky I had escaped...

Christmas Pictures 2016 Catching Up With Relatives

2016 Christmas pictures taken from Instagram or my Christmas mail. 

 This is my dear friends the Blackhams who sang at Richard's funeral.  I worked with Helen in Family History and Brian was my realtor as well as I worked with him doing mortgages for his clients.  They are going on their fourth mission, but this time it is in the United States...Atlanta, working with those who speak Portuguese.

Marilyn's son Bobby who married after Christmas such a pretty bride Staci and here they are enjoying holding one of his grandchildren.

This is Marilyn's grandson.

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This is Carole's son Jon with his wife Bethany, twins Raina and Sage and son Finn.

 

This is a picture of the Pulsipher family plus... somewhere in Nevada doing I am not sure what, but looks like they are enjoying each other.

This is my brother Dick's daughter Kathy with her husband Myron and they live in Lander, Wyoming.

Here is Carole's son Hunter with his wife Toni and her daughter.  They live in Florida.

Early Christmas

All Maria's family but Matt came for an early Christmas, so Melissa, Mike and Dave flew in from North Carolina and Bahia and Mitch drove up from Fresno, and Maria and Johnny drove up from San Diego.

No snow which made things a lot easier and these are some pictures from my back 40.

Me, with My Daughter Maria and three of her children, Mitch, Melissa, and Mike.

Mother and Daughter Picture.

Three Generation picture, Melissa, Maria and Me.

Bahia and Mitch, Dave and Melissa and Mike (in back) with Sadie, Johnny and Maria and Me.

So happy they came to spend time with me.  Love my little home here.

Thanksgiving Week 2016, Christmas Letter

I flew to San Diego on Tuesday the 22nd and stayed at James and Camber's house in Del Mar for a week.  It was a lovely time.  We had the White Elephant Christmas party with the Masseys and Pulsiphers and Hardys.

The Hardys all dressed in their Ugly Christmas Sweaters.

Eden patiently waits her turn while Keira hopes to hang on to her prize, which she did.

I think I ended up with the puzzle that is in Matt's hands.  I didn't get too well acquainted with Nico yet.

Amy got the Ginch Costume and looked so cute in it.

 I look like a feeble old lady the way I am holding my hand...don't know why I did that!

Camber posed this picture and it turned out really cute I think.  Grandma with 6 of her 15 grandchildren and 3 of her 7 great grandchildren.

 On Thanksgiving Day we had Maria and Johnny, Camber's parents and her niece and a cousin, and James' Assistant and his mother plus the missionaries.  It was a great dinner and Mary had a fun question and dart game for us after.    

Above was sent out with the Christmas goodie packages that got mailed to some.

Family Comes First!

Today as I was headed for the gate to take me out of the Club I saw a really sweet and powerful thing that I had never seen before. Momma Deer was standing right in the road watching her four does cross from one side of the road to the other.   Nothing new there, but then I see another figure off to the right.  A big deer, with huge antlers...must be Daddy. and then they both, the Momma and the Daddy Deer stood and faced me head on and stood their ground until all the does were safely across the street and into the woods and then Momma Deer turned and followed them and eventually Daddy Deer let me continue on my way!

I should have taken a video!!!!

And the Beat Goes On...All about the Septic

It is a rainy day and the tarp put over the septic covers did no good, the wells were filled with water.   "No problem," said Vince, the Sanitation man, we have tools.  So two hours later my septic wells are all clean and I should not have to do anything for another seven years, not three years or five years, but seven!!!  I could see  all the muck and paper when he was working.  It was full but he said the problem is how it is constructed inside, something needed to be a foot longer or so.  So it was not anything I was doing wrong except 11 years was a little too long before getting it pumped.  Oh, yes, and he said it did not have to be inspected every year and definitely, "Do not put any Ridex, etc. down the toilets!"  It is does not need anything, he said.

Then he said they could put the risers on on Monday.  He would have Stephanie call me.  But then I got to thinking about the guys who did the work yesterday and they suggested I call Greg about doing the risers.  They were the ones that rushed out to help me so quickly shouldn't they have the job?  I called Greg's office and again the gal (wife? secretary?) wanted Greg to talk to me.  He convinced me they wanted to do it and it would cost more but they should use the better lids.  The plastic ones that Vince uses are too flimsy, children can actually stand on them and they break.  So I said I would let them take care of it and I called Stephanie and told her the same.  He said they had to order the lids today and it would be done middle of next week.  It always costs to use Greg but hasn't he always done a superb job and he is very kind and helpful.  I loved the way they trimmed all my trees when I first moved here.

So there goes the rest of the tax money I had saved.  Guess I will have to use a charge card to pay my taxes...bummer.

2/21/17  To be remembered for Spring.  For some reason Greg did not respond, after calls and a letter so in the spring, call Westwood and get this finished!!!  Nathan did cover with plywood so hopefully it did not damage the septic too much to go through the winter uncovered.