Five Years Ago Today

It is so hard to believe it was five years ago today that I received that painful phone call, "He didn't make it, He didn't make it..." In remembrance just let me share again the poem John wrote, that I like so much.

Very Essence

"Is not general incivility the very essence of love," Jane Austen said.

Judging from our God's Plan of Salvation for us, I must say he has a very great love, indeed.

I hope our God is able to discern the depth of my love for Him and my brethren when I begin to giggle on Judgment Day.

Such incivility was always successful for Jane's characters.

John Hardy

Maria's Farewell Breakfast

Thursday I drove to Susanville for a Farewell Breakfast with Maria, Mitch and Matt. (Mitch had to rush off to a college class so didn't get his pix.) Matt swapped his curls for a 'heiny' as they called it in my day as opposed to a 'crewcut' which left more hair up front.

We are all happy for Maria's exciting move to work at CSU San Marcos and know she will love her new life.

I don't know how I will get along without Maria, but I always knew I could be left here alone and yet moving here was definitely the right thing to do for me, just as moving back down south is the right thing for her now. As long as I can escape for most of the winter I think I will be ok. At least there will be three down there to put up with me in the winter so no one will have to keep me for too long. Gosh, I hate this growing old business.

Kristi and Mike's Babes

Linda drove with me as far as Kristi's and I stayed overnight so I was able to enjoy the babes. They are both so cute and so sweet. Here Kate does a nice pose for her Grandma Linda.

And Grandma Linda even got a smile out of Ryan.

But it would be interesting to know what was going on in Kate's mind when we tried to get a picture of her sitting on my lap. She acts like she is my friend but she would not allow a picture without her Mom holding her. This is like the Santa Claus picture we have of Linda crying and trying to get off Santa's lap when she was about that old.

Kate wouldn't let her Grandma Linda hold her for a picture either so I don't feel so badly. Wonder what the problem is about picture taking with Grandmas? Hmmm.

At any rate we did a pictute of Kate with her Mom holding her and even a 4 generation shot on Linda's camera--at least I hope it was on Linda's camera, it isn't on mine!

Physician, Heal Thyself!!

After the cruise I slept all Sunday afternoon and then took Bandido for a walk. I immediately tripped and fell flat on my face as I reached the sidewalk. My hand is bruised but it wasn't as painful as when I sprained it so I just used ICY HOT on that.

My lip though was split quite deeply with a inch long strip of lip 1/8th to 1/4th inch wide dangling loose. What to do? Stitches? I had had enough of them on my nose so I washed it good with soap and water and hopefully got out all the grit and then kept dobbing at the bleeding and trying to straighten out the lip piece (it kept curling and turning over). I actually stayed up until 2 am working on it every half hour to keep it from bleeding more and trying to lay it down in the gash so it would heal itself. (Good thing I was reading a good book on Barbra Streisand.)

Don't use Mederma! It made it red and nasty--then I read not to use it on an open wound. But the Neosporin, q tips and tongue worked best to straighten it out and finally get it positioned to stay. I prayed it wouldn't look too bad and would heal and finally went to sleep. When I woke a couple of times later in the night I had to clean off more blood but the positioning was staying quite well. Since then I have been drinking from a straw and avoiding eating (except for Tanner's Scotcheroos which were wonderful--he used Guitard Milk Chocolate chips instead of Nestles--really good!)

Interesting dream I had though after going to sleep feeling sorry forself and my misfortunes. I had been talking to my girlfriend Myrna earlier on the phone and I dreamed we were walking and then she disappeared and I was alone in this very dark scary place. I called and called for her and then called and looked for anybody but I was very alone and and very scared and then someone took my hand--I looked and it was Richard! He was smiling warmly and I felt safe and all was well and I wasn't frightened anymore. Nice way to end another of my 'all alone' nightmares.

If my lip heals beautifully, I will become a Plastic Surgeon!!!

Carnival!

What a nice end to a two month hiatus at the Pulsipher home. Jimmy had told us cruises were cheap right now so Meagan and I sailed on the Carnival Elation on March 19th to the 22nd. It was very restful and a great way to catch up after a long year. The last time I saw Meagan she was busy getting married so I especially enjoyed this time together.

The food was plentiful and available 24 hours a day--not quite on par with the Italian luxury liner on the Mediterranean with James, but still good. The first night we were so tired we couldn't stay up for the comedian's chatter at 11:30 pm but we enjoyed meeting our dining partners. A Father and Son bonding from Arizona and California, A Mother and Daughter bonding from Arizona (they were beautiful) and two women from USB In Salt Lake City. All friendly and talkative, especially the guys.

There were a lot of singles on board--Spring Break! So they were fun to watch.

In Ensenada we didn't take a tour but walked the town and bought fruitsicles and churros and I found a great sunhat for gardening in. The highlight of the trip was the 'Las Vegas type' musical and dancing shows the last two nights. Beautiful young girls with great legs and costumes--good singers, choreography and scenery. Very well done.

Since Meagan is getting ready to leave again on Wednesday I especially appreciated her taking the time to be with me. She is very patient with her Grandma. Luckily I didn't embarrass her too much with any falls or other stuff I sometimes do. We paid extra to have an ocean view and were glad we did!!

The beds were very comfy and we were given lots of attention by Elio--but they do not have hair dryers in the room. We had to ask for one...

I didn't take many pictures so will have to wait for Meagan to publish hers. A great trip and I recommend it highly to everyone--it is even cheaper now.

Enjoying Reading

One of the greatest pleasures of not working and having your eyes happy is being able to read. I am enjoying the El Cajon Library and encourage everyone to read Nicholas and Micah Sparks' book 'Three Weeks with My Brother'. It is not only an interesting look into most exotic places to visit in the world but it is the life of the Sparks boys. You get a lot into family dynamics and understand why he and his brother are so close and what great kids imperfect (crazy) parents can raise.

Nicholas who has had about five of his books made into movies (The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, The Guardian) published his first book when he was 30 and was astounded to receive $1 million for it. He was a pharmaceutical salesman and writing was just a hobby. He tells us who the inspiration was for the theme of his books and most were family members. You will be amazed at the hard life and tragedies they have had in their life so far. I really loved the most recent book of Nicholas 'The Lucky One'. So enjoyable to find authors you like when they keep writing.

At James & Cambers in Capistrano

Imagine having this out your back door each evening. Life doesn't get much better than that.

Meagan and I drove to Capistrano on Saturday and Linda and Sarah followed to see where the Hardys are wintering.

Jacob was suffering from a sore throat but on Sunday morning felt well enough to walk the strand with me. Wow, did we see beautiful homes and no one on the beach--

What lucky kids to be able to have a whole beach and ocean in their back yard!

The air felt wonderful.

James, Jacob and Roger were having a serious Monopoly game.

Roger Frith was best friend to James when we lived in La Jolla. He brought his wife Caressa from North Dakota to enjoy Southern California Sun!

We enjoyed eating and sunning and walking on the beach--wear your shoes though--there are lots of large and small pebbles and rocks.

Great way to get a walk but Bandido didn't like the rocks and kept sniffing at the surf to see what it was...

Every Monday Matters

I know I must be feeling a lot better because I have actually written something in my blog today! Also take the time to enjoy the video on the left called "Every Monday Matters." I am always wondering what I should be doing with myself. This movie has the answer...

Time To Catch Up

So I left my home in Lake Almanor on Jan. 21 after six days of physical therapy on my shoulder. There was no snow yet!! I stayed the night at my friend Myrna's home in Manhattan Beach and she had a birthday cake for me!! The next day I stopped and saw Camber, Jimmy and Kelsi at the beachhouse and received a birthday present and then on to lunch with James at the Fish House (great food) and then birthday dinner and presents with the Pulsiphers at Fuddruckers. Quite a birthday celebration for me.

The first Sunday I thought Tanner and his friend Levi looked so nice in their Sunday suits I just had to take their picture. They are skateboarding enthusiasts so I have watched some skateboarding on the TV with Tanner. I remembered when John and John D used to skateboard down our cul de sac and it all seemed so dangerous back in the sixties. What a long way it has come since then...doing things they never even imagined.

My arm hurt from all the driving so I started babying it...

Linda looked so pretty I took a picture of her but it turned out all dark so hope I have enough light in it now to show her lovely smile. Notice how yellow the grass looks, it isn't really. Linda is showing a lot of patience having her Mom here for so long. She has great meals and a lovely, peaceful home so I am enjoying the hospitality of the Pulsiphers very much.

I should have taken a picture of Sarah this last Sunday as she looked so pretty with her long curls. She sang in the Stake Conference. I am constantly amazed by Sarah and her ability to play for hours in her room. But you should see her room, it is delightful, especially with the sun streaming in. I must take a picture of it and Sarah soon.

As soon as I arrived in San Diego I called my dermatologist and she zapped me plenty with all my precancerous spots and took a test on a spot on a nose. Naturally it was positive basal cell so I have been recouping from having that cut out and a piece from my cheek used to cover. There were a lot of stitches and I thought I would show a picture of how it looked but it was too gross. Hopefully it will heal soon. The worst part was not being able to breathe too well so between that and my sore arm my sleeping has been sporatic and with no exercise to speak of I have gained weight again, (so what's new about that) so as they say in some book I read "I have been going through a rough patch."

On the upside I can recommend a lot of good books I have read. I read the update book on "Ted Bundy", "The Reader", "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle", "Sarah's Key", "Breaking Dawn", "Whatever You Do, Don't Run", "The Atonement", and "Katharine Graham". I can recommend them all for different reasons. Since four of them were very long (over 600 pages) I think I have done very well, since I did no reading at all while in Sacramento--just lots of Blockbuster dvds.

What else have I accomplished the last two months? Submitted my 2008 taxes and fortunately I am getting back most of everything I paid in! Yea!

High School Days

So here I am at age 15 with my friend Carla standing behind me. Earlier this year I had a picture of Chuck (second from the left) and Bill (center) and myself as we looked when we met at Denny's near Roseville where I was working last fall. Bill later sent this picture. Glendive,Montana had this huge round swimming pool with a walk and benches all around the edge. It was our socializing place. This would have been the summer before my sophmore year of high school. It is only interesting to me as it is a picture I had not seen before.

MY LIFE

I took Maria's suggested test on LIFE but since I have been recouping at Linda's house for the past month I don't know how reliable the results are but sounds like being nonproductive is a pretty healthy way of life!

Your score on the Suburbanite dimension (which ranges from 0 to 13) is: 5. By most estimates, you would be considered LOW on this dimension. You live an unconventional life that might be best suited for the middle of a big city or perhaps in the middle of a deserted prairie, on a mountaintop, or floating peacefully on your boat in the middle of the ocean.

Your score on the Cultured dimension (which ranges from 0 to 13) is: 5. Overall, you are fairly MODERATE on this dimension. You aren't taking your yoga classes too seriously -- that's probably good.

Your score on the Slacker dimension (which ranges from 0 to 13) is: 1. The Surgeon General would be proud of you because you are LOW on this dimension. You appear to relate to human beings more than to computers. You may even have a strong spiritual side to you. In your heart, you know that drinking or smoking to excess is a bad idea.

Your score on the Preppie dimension (which ranges from 0 to 12) is: 7. You scored in the MODERATE range on this dimension. You aren't obsessed with your appearance but aren't a complete slob either. Keep up the good work. This computer program thinks you have a generally healthy approach to much of your life.

Sounds like living a laid back kind of life is good!!! <

NEW YEAR

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE DAY--ME, DOWN MY ICY STAIRS. DISLOCATED MY SHOULDER. THEY POPPED IT BACK IN PLACE AT SENECA EMERGENCY ROOM--LUCKY ME, NO BREAKS OR TEARS...LOTTA PAIN AND HARD TO BE ONE HANDED FOR AWHILE. MARIA HERE NOW, THANK HEAVEN. WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW I DO WHEN SHE LEAVES. NO MORE MESSAGES IN HERE FOR A LONG TIME, I THINK. HAD WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS WITH VALKOS IN PARK CITY.  PICTURES MUCH LATER.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Farewell Dinner, Sacramento SBA

 

We had a Farewell Dinner on Friday and this is Maribeth, my pod partner, and John, my Supervisory Loan Officer. I had the salmon which was marinated in ginger, brown sugar and bourbon. Delicious!

Jody, the lady, is our trainer, Edwin, in red is our leader, Greg in glasses was my car partner and fellow traveler from Maryland to West Virginia in Hurricane Isabel and Chuck, with the hat was my car partner for awhile here in Sacramento.

Thanksgiving and Christmas 2008

We have been Christmassing in Park City. since 1976 but this year the only ones there for the early week are Maria, her children Mike, Matt, Melissa, Mitch and me sharing the unit. 

I was released from SBA duty on December 19 in Sacramento, picked up Mike from college and then drove to my Lake Almanor home and met Melissa and we drove straight to Park City the next morning. 

 Martin, Richard's brother and Kathy were also there early waiting for their children's families to arrive. They were fun to visit with, only time I ever see them is Christmas, it seems. 

 We like Christmas in Park City because it is simple, we play games, eat ski or snowboard, have a 

Christmas program of sorts and always the white elephant gift game.

Maria brought her portable Christmas Tree!!!!

White Elephant Gift Time

Dinner is always good but not time consuming. I remember one year especially when we put the turkey in the oven before we went skiing, bought a Christmas tree really cheap on the way home and had Christmas dinner that evening. It is always good no matter who is there and what we eat.

Matt was the only one snowboarding. Mitch and Mike spend time on their computers and the girls shop and usually sit in the hot tub. And we always have fun playing games, going to movies and watching tv.

This year the hot tub was not working so that was a great disappointment. 

I also enjoyed watching from our window the construction work going on in front of Meagan's unit, which is why they went to Hawaii this year. Maria was also doing some dating on the side, so that was an interesting sidelight!

 

Matt in his snowboard gear. And he showed us how he can board down stair railings, too.

 Mike kicking back from school and watching tv when he is not on the computer.

Maria's family poses for a picture together. It is hard to get family together in this crazy world so we appreciated this time. 

Melissa all ready to go shopping, shopping, or looking, looking since everyone was saving money for college this year. Mitch and Maria ready to go for an outing also. Maria and Matt pose at Temple Square.

 

We always make our trek to Temple Square. It is always bustling with visitors, Christmas trees, the Nativity Scene and beautiful, beautiful lights. It was a good Christmas! Thanks, Valkos, for letting me share Christmas with you.

Thanksgiving 2008

For Thanksgiving Maria and her four children had Thanksgiving in my hotel room in Sacramento.  I was still working for SBA.  This trip was quite lonely except that Mike was in Sacramento, too, so I would often pick him up to eat.

Maria brought the creamed corn and Melissa had luscious spinanch dip but the turkey I shared was not too great.  Maria say, ""the turkey is the part of it," and that is so true.

After returning from Christmas I had my slippery slide down my front steps and didn't do any blogging for almost a month so here goes Christmas 2008. By the way I had no time to get Christmas cards out in 2008, maybe 2009 will be the year for cards.

 

Ken, My Best Friend in Sacramento

Ken, my GPS Australian guide, has become the most important man in my life. Two days in a row as I have driven to work I have become lost. How can this happen when I have ridden the same route about 90 days in a row? I have been driving my own car as I had things to do after work and it is simpler but each day the traffic has been backed up and so I have taken an earlier turn thinking I knew the way. NOT! When I realize I am lost I pull out Ken and he directs me with u turns and such and I have to trust him completely as I have no idea where the roads go he is taking me on. It doesn't help that I have a hard time reading the signs. Must be an analogy there somewhere... Remember it is dark at 6:30 in the morning.

As it happened for a second time today (and Yes, I have been late for work) I thought again of Maria and her comparing the GPS to the Lord getting us out of our self-imposed jams in life. And how important that trust is as our life takes unexpected turns and takes us on unknown roads that all lead us to our intended destination if we can just trust and follow directions. Follow the Leaders, follow the scriptures, how hard that is to do sometimes, we think we know better...