My girls, all five of them.
One of them had a birthday and they all spent a weekend together. I was not allowed to attend, it was girls only.
I am glad they love each other.
Gratitude #83 - Sweet Biddies!
13 years ago
Saturday, September 19, 2009
troubling birthdays
Some birthdays come and go without a lot of emotion.
Others are deeply troubling.
Forty was a jolt to me. Sixty was another.
Daughter had one of those snappy birthdays this year. She will be alright, but it will take a bit of thinking to get back on top of it all.
Right now we have one daughter who is in treatment for cancer, one who just lost her job, another who had a birthday. I have not heard from the 4th in the last bit, so I assume the best for us.
All of this is a reminder that life is not fair. It is not always good, but it does go on. Every time daughters or granddaughters have a birthday, I have one too, funny how that works. We are all inexorably heading toward older.
It is good to think about these things for a moment now and again, but only for a moment.
There are kids to hug and food to make and eat. There are friends to hang with, camps that we have not visited. There are mountains to climb (if only figuratively) there are rivers to run.
Life may have a serious twist often, but it is up to us to find the joy.
It is there, I promise.
Others are deeply troubling.
Forty was a jolt to me. Sixty was another.
Daughter had one of those snappy birthdays this year. She will be alright, but it will take a bit of thinking to get back on top of it all.
Right now we have one daughter who is in treatment for cancer, one who just lost her job, another who had a birthday. I have not heard from the 4th in the last bit, so I assume the best for us.
All of this is a reminder that life is not fair. It is not always good, but it does go on. Every time daughters or granddaughters have a birthday, I have one too, funny how that works. We are all inexorably heading toward older.
It is good to think about these things for a moment now and again, but only for a moment.
There are kids to hug and food to make and eat. There are friends to hang with, camps that we have not visited. There are mountains to climb (if only figuratively) there are rivers to run.
Life may have a serious twist often, but it is up to us to find the joy.
It is there, I promise.
corner
Corner of our backyard. This is my landscaping. I bargained with a customers 6 year old son for a week to be able to buy the Tonka truck. He had offered it in a yard sale for $4 and I said I would pay him that much. He had to think about it to decide.
If a plant can put up with a bit of neglect it has a chance in my "flower" garden.
The sculpture and the ceramics are mostly mine.
good
Once a Texan mentioned to his friend that they had been having a bit of a drought.
“I don’t mean to complain, but we ate 20 acres of corn for dinner last night.”
Our corn crop was a bit better this year.
But my favorite pear trees came down with nasty cases of fire blight and one had two (2) pears this year. I admired them and watched them, then one day one was gone. It had fallen and had been taken by the squirrels (I think).
So I picked that one last pear, a nice big one. Brought it into the house and then to Portland. Daughter, Miriam and I ate the pear for breakfast. It was as good as it gets.
Now if I can just take care of that awful fireblight.
“I don’t mean to complain, but we ate 20 acres of corn for dinner last night.”
Our corn crop was a bit better this year.
But my favorite pear trees came down with nasty cases of fire blight and one had two (2) pears this year. I admired them and watched them, then one day one was gone. It had fallen and had been taken by the squirrels (I think).
So I picked that one last pear, a nice big one. Brought it into the house and then to Portland. Daughter, Miriam and I ate the pear for breakfast. It was as good as it gets.
Now if I can just take care of that awful fireblight.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
grandparents
Really good grandparents do not stick around long enough.
Mine did not, for sure. My grandmothers were superb, one of a kind women. I learned so much from them. My two grandpas had been worn down by the realities of a hard life. Fun was not a working word for them by the time I was an adult.
Someone said a long time ago that while it is a biological necessity for a kid to have parents, (even in our high tech world) but what every kid really needs are grandparents.
You can talk to grandpa or grandma differently than you can any one else. They were kids once, and for some reason they remember those times.
A few years ago I was in an Alzheimer’s chat room, chatting with people about AD and how we care for our patient. I was asked about my status: Who I cared for; how old I was; how many kids I had; grandkids; and so on. The kind of thing that is sorta general get to know you stuff.
When I said I had 11 grandkids including 4 granddaughters, a little voice popped up in the corner of the room. “I don’t have a grandpa, would you be my e(lectronic) grandpa?”
Who could turn down a request like that.
That happened 3 years ago. The little voice belonged to Stefanie also known as “ilovenonna”. Her nonna (italian for grandmother) was a victim of AD and she was missing that special relationship.
A friendship was born. We have talked in chat rooms, instant messenger and email since.
It has been good: grandpa and Stef! This year she graduated from college and is on a two week trip this direction. The trip was to reconnect with a college pal who lives in Portland and to meet this “e grandpa and grandma”.
She arrive last week and spent good time with the friend. This week we drove to visit for the first time -- face to face.
Meetings like that are a bit awkward at first. Some distant relationships do not work up close, and some work better. This one is working pretty well. The time is too short to do much more than just extend the friendship a bit, but it has been good, very good.
Tomorrow she flies to her eastern home and we drive toward our home. The visiting time has been too short, but it has been good. I am glad we made the trip and I am glad I met the girl who went with the little voice in the corner of the chat room.
Thank you for making the trip, Stefanie.
Mine did not, for sure. My grandmothers were superb, one of a kind women. I learned so much from them. My two grandpas had been worn down by the realities of a hard life. Fun was not a working word for them by the time I was an adult.
Someone said a long time ago that while it is a biological necessity for a kid to have parents, (even in our high tech world) but what every kid really needs are grandparents.
You can talk to grandpa or grandma differently than you can any one else. They were kids once, and for some reason they remember those times.
A few years ago I was in an Alzheimer’s chat room, chatting with people about AD and how we care for our patient. I was asked about my status: Who I cared for; how old I was; how many kids I had; grandkids; and so on. The kind of thing that is sorta general get to know you stuff.
When I said I had 11 grandkids including 4 granddaughters, a little voice popped up in the corner of the room. “I don’t have a grandpa, would you be my e(lectronic) grandpa?”
Who could turn down a request like that.
That happened 3 years ago. The little voice belonged to Stefanie also known as “ilovenonna”. Her nonna (italian for grandmother) was a victim of AD and she was missing that special relationship.
A friendship was born. We have talked in chat rooms, instant messenger and email since.
It has been good: grandpa and Stef! This year she graduated from college and is on a two week trip this direction. The trip was to reconnect with a college pal who lives in Portland and to meet this “e grandpa and grandma”.
She arrive last week and spent good time with the friend. This week we drove to visit for the first time -- face to face.
Meetings like that are a bit awkward at first. Some distant relationships do not work up close, and some work better. This one is working pretty well. The time is too short to do much more than just extend the friendship a bit, but it has been good, very good.
Tomorrow she flies to her eastern home and we drive toward our home. The visiting time has been too short, but it has been good. I am glad we made the trip and I am glad I met the girl who went with the little voice in the corner of the chat room.
Thank you for making the trip, Stefanie.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
flat tires
“how many flat tires?”
Grandpa was in his 70’s, I had just returned from a trip with my mother to Washington DC where my sister had recently been in the hospital.
I had driven from Washington state, leaving Miriam and the girls at home, picked mom up in Idaho and drove to Indiana where I went to photography school. Mom flew on to DC.
When my school was over I drove to DC, picked her up and drove home. All of this in my one year old 1963 VW beetle.
Granddad had never had a very good car. In the early days he had a model T, but probably not a good one. He went several decades without a car of any kind, and this was in Idaho. Grandpa made a living as a door to door salesman those days, and he did it all on his trusty bicycle (a big balloon tired monster). His Model T days had not involved too much travel.
“Pshaw.” he said. ”I remember going to Twin (down the road 110 miles or so) and having at least a dozen flat tires.” He grinned. I am sure he did not have good tires, the patches were not good and the roads were worse. My uncle, who learned to drive when he was 9 or 10 would help fix the flat tires, there beside the narrow road.
So, he was quite amazed that I had made a nearly 6000 mile trip and not had any flat tires. Tires changed a lot between grandpa's Model T and my VW (changed even more since then).
It is not uncommon to trade in a car with a lot of miles and have a spare tire that has never been on the ground. The spare in our Cavalier still has the little whiskers from the manufacturing process.
Some things are definitely better nowadays. The list is long, but there are exceptions!
Grandpa was in his 70’s, I had just returned from a trip with my mother to Washington DC where my sister had recently been in the hospital.
I had driven from Washington state, leaving Miriam and the girls at home, picked mom up in Idaho and drove to Indiana where I went to photography school. Mom flew on to DC.
When my school was over I drove to DC, picked her up and drove home. All of this in my one year old 1963 VW beetle.
Granddad had never had a very good car. In the early days he had a model T, but probably not a good one. He went several decades without a car of any kind, and this was in Idaho. Grandpa made a living as a door to door salesman those days, and he did it all on his trusty bicycle (a big balloon tired monster). His Model T days had not involved too much travel.
“Pshaw.” he said. ”I remember going to Twin (down the road 110 miles or so) and having at least a dozen flat tires.” He grinned. I am sure he did not have good tires, the patches were not good and the roads were worse. My uncle, who learned to drive when he was 9 or 10 would help fix the flat tires, there beside the narrow road.
So, he was quite amazed that I had made a nearly 6000 mile trip and not had any flat tires. Tires changed a lot between grandpa's Model T and my VW (changed even more since then).
It is not uncommon to trade in a car with a lot of miles and have a spare tire that has never been on the ground. The spare in our Cavalier still has the little whiskers from the manufacturing process.
Some things are definitely better nowadays. The list is long, but there are exceptions!
only in america
I have several friends with a serious illnesses.
Most have the illness under control now, hopefully it stays that way. Most have insurance because they have/had a job, so all is OK for now.
But. . .
What if that job went away, because work was not possible with the illness, or the employer went bust or for a hundred other reasons.
Insurance would not be available at anything reasonably close to affordable because of the “prior” conditions. Reality is that the families most likely join the millions who have no insurance and no hopes of getting -- until they were 65.
In fact, except for intervention by some governmental agency, care for their diseases, when more care might be necessary, could/would be in jeopardy.
Some of have been living over their abilities to pay and to live healthfully but not all. Many have lived very carefully and frugally. Many have lived as healthful lives as they could as well.
But all of this careful living and careful spending could be wiped out by the randomness of a disease they neither deserve nor asked for.
Only in America.
Most have the illness under control now, hopefully it stays that way. Most have insurance because they have/had a job, so all is OK for now.
But. . .
What if that job went away, because work was not possible with the illness, or the employer went bust or for a hundred other reasons.
Insurance would not be available at anything reasonably close to affordable because of the “prior” conditions. Reality is that the families most likely join the millions who have no insurance and no hopes of getting -- until they were 65.
In fact, except for intervention by some governmental agency, care for their diseases, when more care might be necessary, could/would be in jeopardy.
Some of have been living over their abilities to pay and to live healthfully but not all. Many have lived very carefully and frugally. Many have lived as healthful lives as they could as well.
But all of this careful living and careful spending could be wiped out by the randomness of a disease they neither deserve nor asked for.
Only in America.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Not a good travel day.
Got down the road 40 miles from daughters house and the car heated up again. Talked with my mechanic guru and decided to head back to daughters house.
Dropped the trailer, emptied the car of anything steal-able, in case I had to leave it some where, and with the addition of a bit of stop leak, I headed back 200 miles for home. The idea was to exchange the aging Cavalier for the newer Dodge pickup.
Well i made it back to daughter and Miriam.
Now it is time to get some sleep.
I drove 500 miles today and ended up right where I started. Were it not for volume, one could loose money doing that sort of thing.
Tomorrow we will try it again!
Got down the road 40 miles from daughters house and the car heated up again. Talked with my mechanic guru and decided to head back to daughters house.
Dropped the trailer, emptied the car of anything steal-able, in case I had to leave it some where, and with the addition of a bit of stop leak, I headed back 200 miles for home. The idea was to exchange the aging Cavalier for the newer Dodge pickup.
Well i made it back to daughter and Miriam.
Now it is time to get some sleep.
I drove 500 miles today and ended up right where I started. Were it not for volume, one could loose money doing that sort of thing.
Tomorrow we will try it again!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
travel time
We are on the road to do grandpa duty. Before we get back in a couple of weeks, we will see all but 3 of our 11 grandkids.
That is good.
So new posts wiill be hit and miss for a while.
That is good.
So new posts wiill be hit and miss for a while.
Friday, September 11, 2009
preserving
This summer got off to a slow start.
It was cool and cold all spring. Many crops that did not get off to a good start. My tomatoe plants have provided enough, but now they are bearing heavily, and we are only weeks away from first frost.
The seed corn company my neighbor works for planted a 5 acre patch of corn just to give away. They furnish corn for the county fair corn roast, for the rodeo and so on. It is a service they gladly do for the community.
But the corn is ready now, and those events were last month.
So this week Terry and I picked a couple sacks of those big beautiful ears. I could have had a dozen sacks if I wanted them. We have a smallish freezer (14 c.f.) and it is full right up to the door. Were it an upright, stuff would be falling out! Somehow I want to live with what we have, I don’t want a 2nd one and a new bigger one is out of the question.
Sadly the field will be disked in and the corn will go unharvested.
So this week I did 21 pints of corn, good corn that mostly will make corn chowder this winter.
I know it is not a big deal, people have been doing this for generations. But I have not. Miriam always all of this and did it well. Now it is my turn and I feel like a new bride. She can tell me that I am not doing it right, but she cannot do it.
So I set up my corn processing center under the big elm tree in our back yard. Didn’t take too long, and those packages of corn look so good.
We are going to be gone next week, and the tomatoes are coming on strong. I told Juan my neighbor across the street to help himself. We have one more peach tree with a bumper crop. It may ripen while we are gone and I told my other neighbor Terry (the corn man and my back neighbor) to help himself if they ripened. “I can just taste peaches and ice cream” he said.
We have been blessed, the freezer is full. Grape juice is next, and last!
It was cool and cold all spring. Many crops that did not get off to a good start. My tomatoe plants have provided enough, but now they are bearing heavily, and we are only weeks away from first frost.
The seed corn company my neighbor works for planted a 5 acre patch of corn just to give away. They furnish corn for the county fair corn roast, for the rodeo and so on. It is a service they gladly do for the community.
But the corn is ready now, and those events were last month.
So this week Terry and I picked a couple sacks of those big beautiful ears. I could have had a dozen sacks if I wanted them. We have a smallish freezer (14 c.f.) and it is full right up to the door. Were it an upright, stuff would be falling out! Somehow I want to live with what we have, I don’t want a 2nd one and a new bigger one is out of the question.
Sadly the field will be disked in and the corn will go unharvested.
So this week I did 21 pints of corn, good corn that mostly will make corn chowder this winter.
I know it is not a big deal, people have been doing this for generations. But I have not. Miriam always all of this and did it well. Now it is my turn and I feel like a new bride. She can tell me that I am not doing it right, but she cannot do it.
So I set up my corn processing center under the big elm tree in our back yard. Didn’t take too long, and those packages of corn look so good.
We are going to be gone next week, and the tomatoes are coming on strong. I told Juan my neighbor across the street to help himself. We have one more peach tree with a bumper crop. It may ripen while we are gone and I told my other neighbor Terry (the corn man and my back neighbor) to help himself if they ripened. “I can just taste peaches and ice cream” he said.
We have been blessed, the freezer is full. Grape juice is next, and last!
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