Taking the back roads

Thru the Veil of "Two Buck Chuck"

2010-06-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

At pleasant Tuesday afternoon at my friend Judi's back yard patio, we sat enjoying a beautiful Sierra mountain afternoon. The sun was shining, the breeze was lovely and cooling and the wine was delightful. The conversation was effervescent and the day was a delight.

We had started the day off with a great breakfast of bacon, eggs, fruit and orange juice on the deck and quickly decided that this was going to be a day of "relaxing and enjoying the great outdoors." After breakfast, that turned into a morning of short naps.

I took the first turn of laying on the floor with a pillow on going off for about 30 minutes of "power napping" and then getting on with some person business on the Internet.

Judi decided to get some things done around the
house and just "play it cool and take it easy" for once in her very busy schedule. Since she rarely has a whole day off, this was a unique opportunity for her to take a "short snooze". So while she snoozed on the couch with Grey Eagle (20-year old cat) resting on her chest and Foxy (2-year old dog) laying at her feet, I moved out to the deck to read and enjoy the beautiful Sierra weather.

By 2:30 / 3:00 PM everyone had snoozed and Judi and I sat on the deck chatting. We decided that it was at least 5:00 PM in Arkansas where I am currently living, so it was a perfect time to open a bottle of wine with the cheese and crackers we were munching on.

A bit of history on the wine... "two buck chuck" is in reality Charles Shaw wine which can be purchased at Trader's Joe for $2 per bottle. We prefer the Merlot which makes for a great sipping wine or wine with dinner. Surprisingly it has a great taste and is frequently used in mine and Judi's households and our family's households.

Be that as it may, we were managing to polish off a bottle an half, when I decide I had to go inside to go to the bathroom. As I entered the living room, I looked on the floor and said, "Is that a snake on the carpet." Now that was a perfectly normal question to ask of this thing that was laying on the carpet just inside the patio door beside Foxy who was just looking at the thing. Grey Eagle had already walked around it and just moved to the other side of the room.

Once Judi looked into the room, the world went ballistic!!!! "What is that doing in my house. I never leave doors open so that something like that can get in. What are we going to do about it." Now you have to realize that we are both a few sheets to the wind and have been giggling and reminiscing about things from our younger days and from the days of our kids being kids. I'm standing on the deck, bare-footed, giggling and asking Judi if she has a blanket or something that we can put over this thing. Being the city girl that I am I can't tell what kind of a snake it is, but at least I know it's a snake.

Judi runs in one door while yelling "what are we going to do about this." While I'm standing there giggling and asking her how we are going to get it out of the house, Judi finds the rake and starts to push the snake out on the deck so we can get it in the back yard. I'm yelling at Judi to give me my camera so we can take a picture of the snake in the house, while she is going crazy trying to get it out on the deck to get it in the yard. All the while we are both laughing and saying we need to get rid of the snake.

Slowly but surely Judi rakes the snake from the living room carpet on to the deck and then on to the back yard where the snake slithers under the deck where it probably originally came from... who knows.

Anyhow, we get settled down and continue with our glasses of wine and how great we were about getting the snake out of the house. Judi is proud that she identified the snake as non-poisonous and I'm just happy that the damn thing is out of sight and I can get back to enjoying the wine and the afternoon.

Of course we have to call some one to let them about the treacherous adventure we have just endured. So Judi calls daughter, Farida, but she's not home. So Judi leaves a message, "You have to call me back right cause we've just had a snake, at least 10 feet long, in the living room." Sure enough, Farida calls back within 20 minutes and asks what's going on. As Judi tells her the story, the snake is now "at least 20 feet long." Farida is kind of laughing and I'm shouting into the phone that is was really something to see your mother get the snake out of the house. Farida decides that it's not a good idea for us to drive the 20 minutes up the mountain to show her the pictures and we giggle that we have to finish the bottle of wine and will show her the pictures tomorrow.

As we get back to finishing off the rest of the bottle of wine, we talk about how horrible it was with this now, "at least 50 foot long" snake being in the living room and how we managed to get it out of the house and on to the deck so we could push it on to the yard.

It's now getting toward sun down and time to get some of the scrumptious smelling spaghetti sauce that has been cooking all day in the crock pot onto a plate to feed our faces.

We finally finish off the last of the second bottle of Two Buck Chuck and get the dinner dishes into the dishwasher. We are now ready to sit and enjoy the cool comfort of a Sierra early evening and relive the trails of the day when we were able to get a snake, at least 75 feet long, out of the living room, onto the deck and on to the back yard where it will live it's life, hopefully, without ever coming back into the house.

If you are interested in Judi's version of this day, check her blog at www.beautybreadsierra.com

Visting a 19th Century Southern Town

2010-04-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

Friday was definitely the day for visiting history. First it was the Crater of Diamonds, to find precious and semi-precious stones. Then it was a trip to the historic town of Washington, AR and the state park to see how things looked from 1824 to 1889.

http://www.historicwashingtonstatepark.com

Washington, AR is a lovely museum village that preserves and interprets the history of the 19^th century town. At that time Washington was a major commercial and professional center in southwest Arkansas. It was the home of the Bowie Knife and a major stopping point for travelers heading down the Southwest Trail as well as serving as the Confederate State Capital of Arkansas from 1863 to 1865. The town is being fully restored so that it shows what life was like in the mid 19^th century of the south.

As we drove into town we could see some beautifully restored building and some with scaffolding around it in the process of being restored. There are many historic homes, buildings and museums that depict life as it was in that era. At different times of the year, the town has tours given by various staff in period clothing. The tours show the life of a thriving community in the 1800s.

We decided to have lunch at Williams’ Tavern Restaurant. It opened in 1832 and is fully restored. Currently it serves delicious home cooked Southern meals and desserts. I had fried green tomatoes for the first time and they are delicious. After a huge fresh ham and cheese sandwich on delicious bread, I indulged in fresh made peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. You just can’t stay on any kind of good eating schedule with food as tantalizing and tasteful as this was. Along with the homemade corn bread and muffins and several glasses of sweet tea, we both managed to stuff ourselves to the point of wanting to take a short nap before we headed home. Instead we decided to walk around the town a bit… it helped some.

We checked out the outside of the county courthouse and several of the homes in the immediate area. In front of one of the homes was a horse and buggy that can be rented for a tour of the town. During the year there are several tours and events depicting the town history. We had just missed the Annual Jonquil Festival which was held this year on March 19-21. Our waitress (whom we secretly call "Scarlette" only because we didn't get her real name) told us this year there was so much rain the festival was actually rained out.

There are also events that depict Civil War times; Frontier Days and what looks like a great event, Trial by Jury Dinner. You have a delicious dinner at the Williams’ Tavern and then adjourn to the historic Courthouse. There you take part in a living history drama where you judge the guilt or innocence of a man accused of an actual crime that took place in the courtroom. They encourage you to wear 19^th century costumes or you can just wear regular clothing. It sounds like it would be so much fun and wearing 19^th century costumes would get you in the mood.

The city also has several different tours and events for school children both during the school year and in various day camps during the summer. It would be a great way to introduce kids to the life and times of a very different era.

One of the events that we have booked on our calendar is Christmas in Washington. From December 6 to 18 they dress up the homes and buildings in period decorations. The whole town looks like it did in the middle 19^th century. People dress in period costumes and there are carriage rides thru town to see the decorations. The even put big red bows on the horses to add a bit of festivity.

There is so much history in this area of the south. We are definitely going to take in some of the history and enjoy events and places so we can see how others lived in different times.

Diamond Hunting

2010-04-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

Diamond hunting… now who’d-a-thunk that was possible just an hour from the house. Well, Jenia and I found out on Friday when we went to Crater of Diamonds State Park a few miles from Murfreesboro, AR. http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com

Just the drive there was quite beautiful. When I think of Arkansas I kind of think of shacks in the rural parts and not much else. But when you travel the back roads, as we did on Friday, you become entranced with the beauty of the countryside. Sure, there are the rural shacks and the cars scattered in the yard, but when you look at the other side of the road you see some beautiful countryside with huge trees and the occasional small stream.

I commented while we were driving that this trip surely qualified as part of my blog of “back road traveling.” Fortunately the Garmin GPS took us on the round-about roads and that was fine with us because we got to see so much of the rural area. Had we taken the interstate and then the county roads, we would have missed much of the lovely scenery.

When we arrived at the state park, there were a few cars in the parking lot but not totally filled. The day was great for scrounging in the dirt: overcast with a slight breeze and the temps in the low 70’s. A wind-breaker jacket was perfect. Of course I wore a pair of light-colored pants which turned out to get a bit dirty but nothing that washing won’t cure.

We rented a bucket, shovel and shifter and set out to find our diamonds. Since about the early 1920’s there have been over 75,000 diamonds found at this volcanic crater which covers over 37 acres. Along with diamonds being found, other semi-precious stones include amethyst, agate, jasper, quartz, calcite and barite… some of which we did find.

Sitting on the clay-like ground did nothing for my pants but did a lot for my psyche. It was rather calming and stress-reducing to just sit there, look at the ground and shift thru dirt to see if we could come up with anything interesting. We did find several fun things including a stone that Jenia turned up. After discussing it with one of the resident geologists, we found that it was about 80 to 90 million years old. Don’t remember the actual name, but the geologist called it a “swamp stone.”

The process is kind of easy: you check a section of the ground. Shift thru the dirt and put anything you want to keep in the bucket. Then you take it to the water shed where you use the shifter to clean the dirt and see if you’ve come up with anything worthwhile. You can take home as much as a 5-gallon bucket, on a daily basis, filled with whatever stones you want.

We sat / stooped / kneeled and filled our bucket with a few things. It was fun at the water shed cause you got a chance to see what you wound up with and a chance to clean your hands after all that playing in the dirt. I mentioned to Jenia that it would probably be more fun had we come there a day or so after a good rain. Not only would the ground have been easier to dig in but we might have been able to get really deep into the ground and find something exciting. But our day was well spent in any case.

After we cleaned our finds and took everything back to the park center, we checked out the rest of the area. There is a small water park just as you enter the diamond center. We thought this would be fun the next time we come back with Stasia. After we finish digging, we can get into our swimsuits and cool off with some fun at the water park. We are going to bring a lunch and enjoy the whole day with diamond digging, swimming and a picnic lunch.

Altho we didn’t find anything of monetary value, we had fun, found an interesting area to revisit and enjoyed a few hours of stress-reducing fun.

Contrasts of Spring

2010-04-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

Spring is different in different parts of the country, obviously. After reading my friend Judi's blog, http://www.beautybreadsierra.com about spring in the lower Sierra’s, North Fork, CA, for example… I wanted to show how things look in the south, Texarkana, AR, for example.

One thing I never knew about this part of the country is how the pollen sits on the ground, all over cars, and blows in an open window so it sits on the window sill. I don’t think I’ve ever really “seen” pollen. I always knew it was around when I lived on the east coast and also in So Cal because I would always have allergies at this time of the year. But to actually see pollen is a bit on the strange side. This is what it looks like sitting at the end of the driveway just before heading into the garage. With the little dip in the driveway, water sits in this spot and this is dryed pollen just sitting there

Pollen is a fine-grained powder with just a bit of grit to it. It gets over everything it settles on including, cars, people, pets, buildings, you name it. When it’s windy, like today, you can see it swirling in the air… really something strange. The other morning after I took Stasia to school, I thought there was a slight bit of fog in the air only to realize it was pollen.

The trees and bushes in the area are blooming and expanding before your eyes. Every day the trees seem fuller and the flowers in the back yard keep coming out… as well as dying off. This purple bloom is lovely (no matter what’s it’s called which I don’t know); the bushes are gaining more red color and becoming fuller (and again I don’t know the name).

Along with all the blooming is some dying out. The beautiful jonquils that had been blooming so full in the back yard are these puny things all shriveled and dying. Guess they will return next year.

Spring in the south is quite lovely with all the colors and blooming bushes and trees. I’m actually going to the book store and get something that will tell me what all this flora and fauna is called. Then I can sound more knowledgeable.

Then, of course, with spring is Easter and the lovely young lady know as my granddaughter, Stasia, in her new spring dress. The dress came with the required new shoes, sparkling flip-flops. And naturally, the required candy and chocolate Easter Bunny. Spring is definitely here in the south.

The Sound of Silence

2010-03-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

Today I realized what the sound of silence is all about. Stasia is out of school this week on spring break and the neighbors next door were out last week so she doesn't have anyone to play with, except me.

We have been spending the days doing a few things, like a 4 mile round trip bike ride to a park. Yipes, I need to get back to that cause I was popped when we got home. Anyhow, a lot of time we have been just sitting outside (me that is) while Stasia rides her bike around the street. We live in a very quiet neighborhood where the only cars you see belong to people in the neighborhood.

Be that as it may, today we sat out for an hour or so and it was so quiet. The only sound you heard was Stasia laughing at something she saw and the wind. It's kind of a dank day cause the sun isn't out yet and the clouds are still around and the wind is blowing a tad more than lightly... and therein is the sound the silence.

It is so relaxing to hear nothing but the sounds of nature. The birds are chirping and the wind is blowing and the trees are rustling.... the beauty and sound of nature.

This is a beautiful pine tree in the yard next door - actually two trees. I recently read that the state tree of Arkansas is the pine tree. And we have them in profusion all around us. When the tree sways and sings in the wind, it is a beautiful sound of peace, comfort and, believe it or not, silence. When there is nothing but nature around that sound is beautiful.

The surrounding trees in the area are pine and whatever... not being the nature person I have no idea what these other trees are. This one right across the street has gotten buds so quickly in the past few days. We've had nice temps, low 70's, and plenty of sunshine so everything is beginning to bloom and show it's spring fashions.

Actually this whole area is surrounded by pines and other lovely trees, all of which I have no idea what their names are. Hmmm, maybe I need to take a class of flora and fauna in this area... could be helpful.

This tree next door is lovely and looks like it will provide a lot of shade to our next door neighbor's house. I'm sure I could ask Mike what kind of a tree it is because he is very informative on some of the things in the neighborhood and he appears to be a gardener of sorts... unlike me.

So why does all this sound of silence appear to be important to me. Well, it's so nice to finally live in a place where I don't hear all the sounds of traffic, people, trucks backfiring and just the general hustle and bustle of a busy, city life. This is much more rural and quiet and just so peaceful.

One thing truly interesting about this Texarkana area, be it Arkansas or Texas, you can drive about 20 minutes in most directions and you are in rural country area and believe me there the sounds are really silent.

Spring has Sprung

2010-03-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

Finally, it seems like the south, at least this part of the south, spring has decided to come visit for a while. After what seemed like a very long winter, in other words, temps in the 20's, 30's and 40's most of the time, it's become a bit warmer.

According to those in the know, like the neighbors who have lived in this area most of their lives, this has been a very, very cold winter. Not like some of the others with terrific ice storms with lots of wind and even some snow, but cold nevertheless. For a transplanted west-coaster, it’s been exceptionally cold, rainy and cold and even cold. I think you might be getting the picture. But in the last week or so, the sun has been shinning and the weather has been warmer.

Take this past Sunday for example. The temps were in the low 70’s and the sun was shinning… just my kind of weather be it here or in So Cal. We decided to check out one of the local parks we have seen driving by. Of course we couldn’t find the correct entrance but an entrance we did locate - that allowed us to park and walk. It seems this is a favorite park of walkers, people wanting to have lunch in the sun, and families with young kids who could play on the swings and slides and just generally run around and have fun.

Stasia, Jenia and I did the short walk from where we parked to the main part of the park where the playground equipment was located. It is really a very nice park with lots of trees, a really nice .8 mile walking trail and lots of benches and tables for lunches or just sitting watching people and nature. Of course there is a small lake with ducks and that will be great for later on when we want to feed them the bread we are gathering at the end of the loaf. Jenia took the whole walk and said it was very refreshing. For me, just the short walk we did pretty much did me in. The good knee is OK but the other one is really causing problems. To me it would be a better trail to bike ride cause it has little hills going up and down. However, I’m not sure it’s wide enough to handle walkers and bikers… maybe during the week when there aren’t so many people walking.

For me, one of the lovely parts of this being spring is the awakening of the flowers and trees. We have some lovely flowers in our back yard (which is large enough to take a nice stroll around) and some big trees. I’m not sure what these flowers are… I think jonquils. Around this area, one of the first trees to bloom is the dogwoods. They really are beautiful… but I have a feeling very messy. I remember in CA in the spring one of the nicest trees and the one I loved the most was the jacarandas. Their flowers are a beautiful light purple in color but boy are they messy especially when the flowers fall on your car. Be that as it may, the dogwoods are incredibly beautiful.

As I’ve been driving around town the last week or so, I’ve noticed all the beautiful trees and plants all coming to life. I remember growing up in the Boston area, I always loved spring and fall seasons the best. Spring was such a renewal of life with trees and plants coming back to life after the first few warm days. And that’s what it’s been like here in the south. A lot of the different types of trees still need their leaves to sprout, but the buds are there and just waiting for some more warmth, sun and of course a little rain to give them a good start.

Pictures of the Mini-Mardi Gras

2010-02-19T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here's Jenia and Stasia with just a few of the beads from the local parade

And here's what some of the things that are thrown from the floats

How the floats look passing by

Just a few trinket for my neck - cool hat

When arms get in the way, it's hard to see the floats.

Who Dat was a common theme for all the parades.

And this is only the beginning of the parade. So many more beads and so much fun.

Honestly, the only thing I had to drink at this point was

water, and lots of it. Some of the things that are thrown

are panties and one has to wear those on your head.

How about some gymnastics on the top of the levy next to the Mighty Mississippi

This is what the back of the Yukon looked like near the end of the parade

I kid you not... people do all kinds of things for these parades

It's always helpful when you get a boost to get closer to the float for the beads

Even the front of the truck gets decorated.

Our Mini-Mardi Gras Trip

2010-02-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

For a long weekend, we took a trip to New Orleans for a mini-Mardi Gras celebration. By mini-Mardi Gras I mean that we went to local parades and didn’t venture into downtown New Orleans. I think the local parades have more heart to them because the represent the town itself.

I’ve been to some of the downtown parades… granted it was many years ago. But like any large parade, there are always large crowds and way too many people for me. It really was much more fun being at the smaller parades.

The drive down to New Orleans (from here on in known as NO) would have been a few hours less than the 8.5 hours that it took us. We had to go thru parts of Shreveport and that’s where the trouble started. The drive to Shreveport itself is a little over an hour and that presented no problem. We were to take I49 south to Lafayette and then east toward NO. The only problem was I49 was closed due to an accident further on down the road and the potential for icing on the bridges. That required us to take Route 1 which pretty much parallels I49 for quite a while. Well, we saw a sign for I49 and decided to take it hoping it would cut off all the traffic we were driving in and all the red lights we were hitting. That wasn’t to be the case. We wound up making a large circle, about an hour’s worth, and winding up back on Route 1 till we could take a cross road to I49. Once on I49 the traffic was kind of heavy so we couldn’t drive as fast as we wanted. But finally traffic thinned out and we were able to make good time.

We were staying at the home of friends of Jenia’s, Kim and Mike. Talk about southern hospitality… they presented it from the moment we came into their home… in the late hours, almost early morning hours. Jenia and I were so tired from the drive and Stasia was tired because it was way past her bedtime. Other than saying hellos and being pointed to the bedroom, we hit the sack and saved greetings and catching up till the next morning.

I had met Kim and Mike when Kirk and Jenia were in Colorado. They worked on the same job site and they were from NO and were Saints and LSU fans so there was a lot in common. Both are wonderful cooks and couldn’t have been more fun and more welcoming.

They live in a little town called Montz about a 20 minute drive from the downtown NO area. Lots of little towns have their own parades and this one went right by Kim and Mike’s place. People had their ATV’s all decorated and threw beads as if it was a downtown parade.

One of the big things about Mardi Gras is getting beads from the float riders thrown at you. Don’t know how that happened as a ritual but that’s the big thing about a parade. This year, with the Saints being the Super Bowl Champs, the float and beads and people were all decked out in Saints regalia. As a matter of fact, there wasn’t a place or thing around the whole NO area that didn’t have something to do with the Saints as well as Mardi Gras. It was the main theme wherever you went.

After the little local parade we went to one of the large local parades in Luling. It’s a town on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. There is a road on either side of the River known as River Road (go figure) and there’s a lot of life along that road. This parade, according to those in the know, is one of the better and bigger local parades. It certainly was fun and there were lots of colorful people in the crowds. Being a people watcher from way back, it was so much fun for me to just watch the people, both those watching the parade and those in the parade. I also joined in the asking (yelling is more like it) for the riders to throw me beads.

The floats are locally decorated and some of the people riding the floats have been doing so for many years. They have local clubs, more social groups than anything else, and they raise money every year to make their floats and toss their beads. And toss them they did. Just from this parade we have a 33 gallon trash bag full of beads, small stuffed animals, cups with groups’ logos and other small items the kids just love catching.

For any of you who have ever gone to the Rose Bowl Parade or the Huntington Beach 4^th of July Parade (hey, remember I've lived in Southern California for 44 years), think of these Mardi Gras parades as more raucous, more participant involvement and more down to earth. Float riders and parade watchers have more fun and are more interactive than any other parades I’ve ever seen. And because of the Super Bowl win, anything Saints was in full force.

After the parade, all the kids went in one car with Kim’s neighbor so Kim, Jenia and I drove back in Jenia’s Yukon… filled with parade stuff. We had to make a stop at a daiquiri store. Only in the NO area can you have a drive thru daiquiri store. We got our drinks as well as something called a King Cake. It’s this delicious cake that kind of looks like a narrow piece of French bread in an oblong shape. It can have all kinds of delicious things in / on it like cream cheese, pecans, strawberries, cinnamon whatever and then frosting and other things they might include in the cake. Unfortunately it is so good and so tempting that I could almost eat a whole one myself. Oh, wait a minute; I did pretty much eat a whole King Cake by myself.

We were supposed to drive home on Sunday but we decided to stay another day and take in another parade. Actually there were some other friends’ of Jenia’s that she wanted to see and they were going to be at the other parade. That parade in Deslanems (probably not spelled right) was nice and we wound up with another big bag of beads. I made the comment that we have enough beads and things to have our own Mardi Gras parade.

After this parade we had to have an early dinner to get some good seafood and that meant going to a place called the Acme Oyster House right in downtown on Veteran’s Street. As it turned out, there was going to be another big NO parade right in front of the restaurant but it wasn’t due to pass by till around 7:30 PM and we were all paraded-out and eaten-out by the time we finished dinner. It would have meant staying in downtown for another couple of hours and then fighting all the traffic to get home. A joint decision was made to get back to Kim and Mike’s and just gel for the evening.

What was very interesting for the parade week is that almost all the schools have the week of Mardi Gras off. Many companies close down on Monday and Tuesday of Mardi Gras week and employees have the time to take in the parades and the festivities. It’s just part of the culture here in the south.

Our next trip to New Orleans will be in late April / early May for something called the Jazz Festival. According to everyone who has been to the festival before, it’s something you want to enjoy so we are going to take it in.

Circles in my Life

2010-02-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

As I get older I think I get more thoughtful about my life. Having more time to myself and not having the usual day-to-day pressures of working and living, allow for more thoughtful moments. It also shows me how life works in strange circles. I guess when you come down to it, I’m a person who believes in things happening for a reason at the time they happen. I make the moves and I make the decisions, for the most part, so the changes are caused by my decisions.

When I was writing my previous post, I mentioned things about my working life and a brief note about my entering college. And that simple explanation is the crux of this blog.

Ever since I can remember I have always wanted to go to college. As a young kid, school came pretty easy to me. I loved to read and I loved to learn. Maybe because as a youngster I felt my family life was so chaotic, I learned to escape by reading. I also figured out I could find out about any thing, any place or any person by reading. That fact alone, I think, helped me become a good student and to be the life-long learner that I am. Hello Internet, you are my friend.

My grades were good in school and I actually did earn a few hundred dollars in scholarships. However, at the time I wanted to go to college, a few hundred in scholarships didn’t quite cut it for college. So I worked for a while and saved as much as I could.

My plan was to become a teacher – teaching English literature at a junior college level. My minor was teaching business classes. I kind of always hedged my bets in life. If I couldn’t get the required education for teaching literature, I always knew I could get a job teaching typing, letter composition and all the other things needed for the business world.

I enrolled in Salem State Teachers College in the fall of 1959. I went there because I was able to have free room and board in a friend’s house for taking care of her daughter after school. Sue Wagner had been a neighbor in Brighton for many years and my first job was taking her baby daughter, Carol, for stroller walks after school. I stayed in their house, took care of Carol and did most of the house work. Sue was suffering from breast cancer at a time when you didn’t really talk about it. Her husband was some kind of a scientist or engineer or something like that and was always working. Sue just didn’t have the energy to take care of her daughter so it worked out great for me.

Not only was Sue a great friend as I grew older, she was a great teacher. She taught me how to play the piano by ear. Oh how I wish I had continued with that. I was only able to live with them for my one year at college because Sue died shortly before I finished my first year at Salem. It was not appropriate for a young college girl to live with an unmarried man and his daughter, so I had no place to live.

I had to drop out of college and get a job in the real working world. Even today, as I type this, I can remember the feeling of loss that I experienced about not being able to continue with my college education. I had only what little money left that I had saved with the previous 18 months of working. I needed that money for an apartment and clothes to begin my working life.

After I got into working and could finally afford it, I enrolled in Boston University at nite. I also took a few classes at Harvard University but I could only take them at nite because women were not allowed at Harvard during the day. You had to enroll at the woman’s college and that was only open during the day and you had to be a full time student. But during the evening hours, I could take one class a semester at Harvard. Remember, this was the early 60’s when there was no such a thing as women’s rights.

In any case, any semester I could afford it, I would enroll in college classes. I didn’t have any definite plan, at that time, as to what I wanted a degree in; I just wanted a college education. So I would take whatever class fancied my attention at the time.

Eventually I got married and moved to California where community college was free. Halleluiah! I could finally afford to go to college. But I was still working full time; my husband at the time was in the military and they don’t pay their members very much. In order to have a home and live in a nice neighborhood, both of us had to be working and earning a combined salary that would allow that kind of livelihood. Also, don’t forget that women only earned about 50% of what a man earned, no matter if she were educated or not.

But as the years went by, I continued to take college courses and finally with a destination in mind.

In 1977, after my husband retired from the Navy, I figured it was my time and I quit my job. Beside, we were paying almost as much money as I was making - in taxes, babysitting, my clothes and lunches, gas and whatever other monies it takes when you work. I figured I could save money by going to college full time and I would be home when my kids got home from school. So I enrolled at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa and spent 2 years earning an Associates Degree with an emphasis in marketing. In other words, I did the first 2 years of college but with a definite degree in mind. I could now transfer to a 4 year college and get a Bachelors in Business.

Well, that didn’t quite work out as I planned. Due to family problems caused by being more educated than my husband and marital problems cause by other things in life, I was expected, and truefully at that time, wanted to go back to work. I won’t say my now ex-husband was not helpful when it came to my wanting to continue my education… I’ll just concede it caused many problems.

However, even after getting a good job that I really liked, I still took classes toward my expected degree at nite. Eventually the pressure of trying to keep a family together, trying to keep a dying marriage together, and lots of overtime, I gave up going to school and dropped out of college.

There is a happy lining to all of this. When I finally gave up trying to save a dying marriage and got a divorce and the kids decided to go with the money (live with dad), I now had time and certainly the desire, to finish my college education. And I did just that.

I decided to change my major from the classes I had been taking at Cal State Fullerton. Actually Cal State sort of helped me change. The core classed I needed for my degree were only held during the day and I was still working full time so I couldn’t attend the classes. I enrolled (at nite) in National University’s Bachelors in Behavioral Sciences program (psychology and sociology) and finished in just under a year. I had all the credits from Orange Coast and Cal State and only needed to take the core classes to get my degree. National’s program allows you to take one subject for 5 weeks which equals a semester in a regular college. And I got my B.A. in June 1988. When you think about it, it only took me about 29 years from when I first decided to get a degree. In my book, that means dedication and desire.

Of course being the over-achiever that I was (and to some degree still am), I took a 6 month respite and then entered National’s Masters in Counseling Psychology program. I decided I wanted to change my whole life and become a therapist.

It is often said that people become therapists so they can learn to straight out their own lives. Well, that really worked for me. I found out so much about myself and learned who and what I was and why I did some of the things I did and didn’t do. I also learned to change aspects of my self that I didn’t like and leave some that I wasn’t ready to change. In many respects, it was the most expensive therapy I’ve ever had (I’m still paying off my student loans). But it is something that no one and no thing can take away from me. I own it; I use it; I love having it; and I wouldn’t have changed one thing about those 18 months.

But how does all this work into how circles of life work. If you remember early on in 1959, I wanted to become a teacher. I took a long side road that brought me into the business world where I had some successes… and it allowed me the money to get an education. With a Masters I was able to get teaching credentials for teaching in California Community Colleges. I was also able to take two semesters at Cal State Long Beach and get my teaching credential to teach technology (computers) and business subjects in K-12 and vocational schools.

And that’s where I spent 17 years teaching… part time.

My first teaching position was part time at a private business college in Anaheim, CA. I taught 3 nites a week, while holding a full time position during the day. That position I secured even before I had a B.A. Just having an AA degree and years of business experience allowed me to teach. Then around 1999 when I was laid off, I figured I wanted to be a teacher full time. But full time positions were hard to find so I settled for working part time.

What was truly interesting to me was that once I called myself a teacher, I became a teacher. When I got laid off, I decided I didn’t want to work in an office again and I just wanted to teach. Part time worked for me because the kids were older, one married, one off in other states working and it gave me a bit of free time for the first time in my life. Then with the advent of a grandson growing and getting into school, teaching allowed me to pick him up after my classes and take care of him till mom or dad got home from work and could pick him up from my house.

And that’s where the circle comes in. So many years ago I wanted to be a teacher and after a jog in the road, my desires and dreams came true. Now I call myself a retired teacher. For the moment that works for me. Will I decide to take another part time teaching job in the future?... who knows.

All I understand is that when you put your mind to something and you want it bad enough and you work for it hard enough, it will eventually become a reality for you. I may have taken a huge jog in the road, but I did what I was supposed to do, become the person I was supposed to be. That’s not so bad when you look at it in the whole, eh?

Working vs Not Working

2010-02-10T08:21:00.000-08:00

The other day as I was tooling around Texarkana (AR and TX) I got to thinking about how I'm no longer working and how I felt about that. But first some history on my working life.

I started out kind of early on the working scene. When I was just 9 I starting taking the almost year old baby of a neighbor on stroller rides after school. My neighbor had asked me if I wanted to earn some money and of course the answer was yes. We agreed upon 50 cents per hour (a lot of money back in 1948) to take her daughter for stroller rides around the block on nice days. I would report to Mrs. Wagner's house after I got home from school and she would let me know if I were to take the baby out for that day. I would walk around designated blocks for an hour, sometimes two, and then bring baby Carol back. And that was my introduction to being financially independent.

Shortly before the end of my sophomore year in high school, I saw an ad in the Boston Globe for waitresses in Ogunquit, Maine. So I did some creative date changing on my birth certificate as well as my friend's, Mary, and off we went for a fabulous first summer of waitressing in a restaurant. Again, several months of gaining financial stability. That lead to another year at the end of my junior year in high school. We had two great summers away from the heat and humidity of Boston, went to a lot of parties, worked a lot and had lots of fun... and Mary met her future husband. BTW, they are still married after all these years.

During the beginning of my senior year of high school, I was able to get working papers which allowed me to work in an office. I got a position to the executive assistant to the president of Snap-on Tools at the end of Dustin St in Brighton, MA. I worked there all thru high school and boy did I ever learn... and earn.

Miss Williams (there was no such thing as a Ms at that time) taught me the right way to answer phones, file, greet customers, answer questions, write a concise and accurate business letter, stand up for myself when necessary and any other aspects of office work. Altho I was learning the "theory" in high school, I was learning the "practice" in an actual work environment. I firmly believe Miss Williams gave me the ground work and necessary tools that helped me throughout my long career in the business world. She also stood up for me and helped get me raises as well as showed me how to ask for more money for myself. Altho she was probably old enough to be my mother, she became a true friend but also one of my greatest teachers.

I desperately wanted to go to college and altho I was earning good money for a high school kid, I needed more money to save for college. At that time there were few and far between scholarships for college. Your family either had money to send you or you worked to save money to enter college and then worked while while you were in college to stay there. So when I told Miss Williams I was quitting to take a better paying job to save for college, she said she would miss me very much. In her good-bye card, she tucked a $50 bill as my start to my college fund. You have to realize we are talking about 1957 dollars and that was a lot of money.

In any case I worked in a furniture store in Watertown, MA for about 18 months and then at a resort in Lake Placid, NY for the summer and during my winter break after I started college. In the fall of 1959 I enrolled at Salem State Teachers College in Salem, MA (more about the ironies of making a big circle later or probably in another post). I was fortunate to be able to live with my earlier babysitting post, Sue and Chuck Wagner, who had moved to Salem. I took care of my charge Carol (my stroller baby) after she came home from school. Sue had developed breast cancer and just was not up to taking care of a school child with homework and other activities. Unfortunately, at the end of my first year at Salem, Carol died and I could not longer afford to continue with college. Either I had to work for room and board and get a little part time job at nite which would barely give me enough for tuition, books and other necessities, or I had to quit college. And quit I had to do... one of the darkest days in my so far inexperienced life.

Anyhow, because of my prior working experience at Snap-on Tools and because I had taken typing in school and could move my fingers fast and accurately, I got a job with Tourraine Travel in downtown Boston. That, my friends, was one fantastic job and got me to indulge in my love of travel. I worked at Tourraine for about 3 years; got to become a travel escort for tours to Bermuda, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Nassau and a cruise to the tip of South America. I also got to take theatre tours to New York City by train about 2 or 3 weekends a month when I wasn't taking tours to other exotic places.

But, alas, all good things must come to an end and they did when the owner who had had one heart attack, had another and sold the agency. His agency was scooped up by another big agency in Boston and they didn't have need for a "young" tour escort.

For a few years I worked for a sales / marketing firm in Boston which lead to years of working for my boss even after I quit that job. I would wind up working for him on weekends at fairs and seminars throughout the New England area even tho I had taken a full time position in aerospace.

John Kennedy had become president; the business world was a-twitter with work and aerospace was the place to be. I found a position with RCA in Burlington, MA which was about as far away from downtown work as you could get. However, the carrot dangled before the working person was that aerospace paid exceptionally well and to get an office position in aerospace you earned almost twice as much in outer-space Burlington as you could in downtown Boston. The catch was you needed a car to get there which fortunately I did. There were about 3 happy years working on various space projects including the Lunar Excursion Module and a portable airport which would be used extensively in the Vietnam War.

From aerospace I progress to working at the New York World's Fair for 2 years; met my soon-to-be-husband; moved to California and became a working mother when most women and, certainly mothers, didn't work.

I spent most of my adult working career in various office administration and, for a time, management positions in the business world - mostly in the sales and marketing area. California's working world was very progressive and the money was always good. There were some lean time with a couple of minor recessions but I almost always was able to find a good paying job.

Because I did have good paying jobs and because I was married to someone who always had excellent paying jobs (after he got out of 20 years in the military), I was able to finally begin my long desire for a college education. Unfortunately that desire and other problems lead to a divorce and a way lower standard of living. But by not being married, earning a fairly good salary and not having the children living with me for several years (after all dad had all the money), I was able to complete a B.A degree and 6 months later enter and complete a Masters program.

My original point is that I have worked full time for approximately 55 years, give or take a couple when I was in junior college and several months during my pregnancy with my daughter. And now, I'm at a point when I'm not working in any paying capacity. That's a change, a mighty big one, and for the most part, I think I like it.

At least I have more time for myself... and being a hedonist, that's an important fact. I pretty much get to do what I want on most days. Granted, I'm living with my son's family and acting as a nanny for my granddaughter, but I have many hours during the day to amuse myself.

Guess what - Now that we have a routine in the household, I'm not sure I'm going to like not working. The last 4 or 5 years of my working life, I only worked about 20 to 25 hours a week. But when you teach, even teaching adults, you have lots of hours of prep for classes so you don't really work part time. I don't really have to prepare for anything other than making sure my granddaughter is taken care of.

I guess when I get a bit more settled, especially in my own apartment, I'll venture out and see if there are things to join. However, never having been much of a joiner, I'm not sure how that will work.

When I look at the situation overall, I think I like the ability of not having to be anywhere at any particular time to do something. It just might grow on me.

A Kind of Farewell

2010-02-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I took a quick trip back to sunny So Cal. Since I had left on Dec 14th with the thought that I would be gone for a month or so, I didn't really pack a lot of clothes, and mostly winter ones, cause I was going to be in Colorado for a while. Well, as things turned out, that changed and I landed in Arkansas with winter clothes. In actuality that turned out to be a good thing cause it's been colder than normal here in AR. Be that as it may, it will get warm eventually and I didn't have the proper clothes... ergo the trip back.

However, since so much has changed and I am planning to be in AR permanently, at least for the next 2 years, I needed a lot of things from my home in So Cal. So I came back with two 29" suitcases full of clothes and various papers that I need right now. Thank you Southwest for not charging for suitcases.

I flew out of Love Field in Dallas and that was a treat in itself. Dallas is about a 2.5 to 3 hour drive from Texarkana. I didn't know how to get there or where to go so I decided to leave very early Thursday morning for my 3:30 PM flight. I left here at 9:30 AM and arrived in the Love Field area around 12:30 PM. It really isn't a bad drive, I30 West to 35N to the turn off. Once I figured out the correct exit and got to Love Field, I had to find a long term parking area which actually is on the road to the field. Anyhow, I managed to get the truck parked and onto the van to the airport just as it started to rain.

In spite of possible predicted weather delays, we manged to get in the air and wing our way to Phoenix, via Amarillo. Lo and behold it snowed and was lightly snowing for our short stop in Amarillo. Pretty cool actually and the snow was fresh. After a change of planes in Phoenix I arrived at John Wayne airport where my son-in-law picked me up.

It felt kind of funny to walk into my own house and see all the boxes that were already packed and all the things Carisa needed me to make decisions about whether to pack, toss or take back with me. I cannot believe all the things my darling daughter has done with this move. She has taken it on and organized and completed so much. She is definitely a wonder woman with all she has done.

The weekend went by very quickly with a hair appointment with my great stylist (and you know who you are Sharon); visits with wonderful neighbor and friend, Linda; an all too short visit with darling neighbor, Norma; various trips to stores to get a few things and dinner with Liisa. Best of all, Sunday Carisa and I got to get our toes done and have a nice lunch. In between those things, packing, tossing and getting things ready for sale and storage made the weekend go by very quickly.

Monday morning came early and making sure I got to John Wayne in time to get thru security (I ding because of my knee replacement) was all too quickly an end to 44 years of living in Southern California. It really felt strange on Sunday nite to realize it would probably be the last nite I would ever spend in my home of almost 11 years. But new, different and hopefully exciting adventures will turn up in Arkansas.

One thing I do know is that I don't think I'm going to bother flying out of Dallas again no matter how seemingly inexpensive the tickets seem to be. By the time I figured out the gas costs, the cost to my sanity in figuring out how to get there and then the drive home, it will be less expensive to fly out of Little Rock and maybe occasionally Texarkana. The drive home from Dallas was terrible. The 35S to I30 East reminded me of the 405 at rush hour. Naturally my flight landed at 4:30 PM so I wound up in Dallas rush hour - similar to and no fun as LA rush hour. I chose Dallas cause the ticket was about $100 cheaper than Little Rock. By the time I paid for gas (Kirk's big pickup does not get good gas mileage) and the wear and tear on me, it didn't save me a whole lot.

In the future, if I have enough advanced notice, I can probably get a pretty good fare out of Little Rock. That's a shorter drive and a smaller airport. Leaving out of Texarkana airport, which is about 5 minutes from the house, is very expensive. You have to take a commuter airline - American Eagle - to Dallas DFW airport and that fare is very expensive. I'll just have to be smart and plan my trips more efficiently.

I'm not sure I've come to grips with the full idea of the change that I'm making. I think it will really hit me when my mobile sells and I get an apartment here in Texarkana, whether it be on the AR side or the TX side. Yes, I have family here and that definitely helps. But I left family in So Cal and that is strange knowing I won't see them on a daily or whenever I feel like it basis. I also left some special and good friends in So Cal. Fortunately, they are all available on e-mail or by phone. But it's a change and sometimes change take a while to get used to. However, I'm a firm believer of things happen when they happen for a reason, so I will get used to this change and make the most of it.

Football Mania

2010-01-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

Now, I like football almost as much as the next person. In my younger days, I loved going to Patriots games. And at one game, I sat in about the 5th row from the field right on the 50 yd line. Now that's watching football at its best. But, I didn't know what football mania was like till I came here and watched football with Jenia.

Jenia grew up for a long while in the south. Older brother, Mario, is a graduate of LSU and Jenia spent a year or so living near the LSU campus while studying at a gourmet cooking school where she became an LSU fan tried and true. Naturally, having grown up, and later in life lived and worked in the southern states (Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana), one becomes a fan of LSU… AND The Saints. Both Jenia and Kirk have worked in the New Orleans area for several years so they both have a passion for The Saints.

Where the house is currently located is right on the Texas / Arkansas border. The house is in AR but most of the things we do are on the TX side... that's just how it works. So from a sports standpoint, at least for the professional sports, Texas is the one people usually identify with... and that means The Cowboys. I liked the Cowboys especially when people like Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach and Don Meredith headed the team. But down here, even this far away from Dallas, Cowboys rein. That may be the way things work on the outside, but inside this house it's THE SAINTS all the way.

So we've been watching the playoff games and having a blast. Hey, I'm easy - one team or another, it's always fun.

After The Saints won their previous divisional playoff and were now going to play to see if they could win a spot in the Super Bowl, well, things got a little wild around here. We decided we would have a little celebration, with food and drink, and watch the playoff game(s). BUT, one cannot watch playoff games if one does not have a T-shirt or some sort of apparel to support your team. And we didn't have that. So it's a-shopping we go.

Like I said, we are closer to Texas than Louisiana. And all the stores we hit didn't have a thing for The Saints. Some of them did have LSU stuff but Jenia and Stasia have plenty of that. Saturday came and went and we still didn't have anything to cheer our team on - with the exception of some delicious food and drinks.

Jenia was complaining to her parents (who live in Puerto Rico) about not having Saints t-shirts. So dad says.... 'why don't you go to Shreveport.. it's close enough and they are sure to have some.' Well, neither Jenia nor I had thought that through but said yes, we can do that.

Sunday morning was warmer (high 50's) and the sun was shining brightly so we got dress, went out for breakfast, and hit the road to Shreveport. It was a nice slightly over an hour's drive down a 2-lane divided highway for part of the trip. The rest of it was on a 2-lane, narrow country road. Still and all, I wasn't driving so I got to check out the scenery.

The drive was fine and the fields and roads to Shreveport were interesting. There were many fields along the road that were mowed down with just stalks sticking up. Guess they were getting ready to plant something. But, me being the city girl born and bred, didn’t have the faintest clue as to what crop might be going in. Jenia thought sugar cane might be a good guess and they sort of looked like that.

Anyhow, we hit downtown Shreveport and just drove thru it looking for some kind of a mall or Walmart. We drove over a river with a big paddle wheel boat sitting at the dock and promptly put ourselves in Bossier City. I guess Shreveport and Bossier City are kind of thought of as one place and they are right next to each other. Sure enough, after asking directions (we are women after all), we found the Bossier City Mall. And in the first sports store we hit, we found our T-shirts. And this is what we wound up with. Jenia wore her t-shirt to work cause they have things going on there where people wear their favorite team’s apparel.

So here we are all ready for THE big game on Feb 7. Now we will be in vogue when we go to a Super Bowl party with friends from Jenia’s work.

The Haircut

2010-01-25T08:36:00.000-08:00

Oh the trials and tribulations of a 9-year old's hair cut. Saturday was the day for Stasia to get her hair cut from it's long, slightly below the middle of her back, to a shorter, more manageable cut. My granddaughter can so surprise me at time with her compassion and thoughts.

Stasia had been letting her hair grow so that she could eventually cut it and give the cut hair to "Locks for Love." I didn't know what it was so Stasia informed me that if you let your hair grow and there is 10 inches of hair cut off, you can send it to LoL to be made into a wig for a child with cancer who has lost all their hair. The thought of a child having cancer is enough, but for that child to loose all their hair must be so totally devastating. I know how it affects adults since a dear friend of mine lost her hair with cancer but for a child it must be incredible. Well, my sweet

granddaughter was trying so hard to grow her hair to contribute it to Lock for Love.

Unfortunately, she didn't quite make it. Stasia's hair was only about 8 inches long of hair that was cut off. But at least she thought about another child's suffering and that's incredible. And here's the results.

Stasia looks so much more like her mom, Jenia, with this haircut. For such a long time she looked like daddy, Kirk, and now it's different, as so often happens as children age and change their appearances.

In any case, it's so much easier for Stasia to keep her hair brushed and neat looking. She has curls underneath that you can't see in this picture but appeared over the weekend. Stasia seems to stand taller and walk with more determination with the new cut.

The big test will be today when she goes to school and what the other children say. I'm sure it will be positive because the cut is so great and looks so good on her.

Upcoming Events

2010-01-22T07:28:00.000-08:00

Before I receive a nasty-gram from a friend who shall remain name-less, I thought I should post at least some thing.

We got our weekend plans organized last nite since Jenia knows her work schedule for the next couple of weeks. This weekend will be some house cleaning with a bit of errands - the first one being to get Stasia's hair cut. She has beautiful, long, gleaming, auburn tresses. However, that's a lot of hair for a 9-year old to take care of. Also it's been a while since she got it cut and the ends are all brittle and broken so a haircut is in order.

It's always tough finding new places when you move. We don't know too many people yet, a few neighbors, but that's about all. Since our next door neighbor's daughter got her hair cut, I figured we could ask her. But auntie cut her hair so that's not an option. I guess it's the phone book and we take our chances.

Sunday, which promises to be sunny and warm, will be our drive-around-and-find-things day... like parks, possible lakes and other places for expanded excursions.

The last weekend of the month, I'll be winging my way to So Cal for a few days of packing and getting more clothes. I didn't bring a whole lot of stuff cause I wasn't sure how long I would be gone. Now that I know it's permanent (at least for 2 years), I need my clothes and other stuff to keep my life going.

One of the following weekends will be spent in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Jenia has friends who live there so we have someplace to stay. I guess there are parades for the week prior to Ash Wednesday and we want to partake in a couple of them. I haven't been to Mardi Gras in years so it will be fun for me.

Learned from the neighbor on the other side that there is a lake not too far away that has some grand fishing. As a matter of fact he runs a guide service for fisher-people. Kirk and Stasia love to fish and Jenia enjoys it. Me... I would rather take a book and lay in the boat and read with the sun beating down (properly doused with all kinds of 50 proof suntan lotion for my tender skin) and enjoy the day that way. So there's another trip which I understand can be a day excursion.

I did something for me yesterday - I joined Curves. And the best part of it is that my insurance pays for it - Silver Sneakers I thank you. The only way I'm ever going to loose these extra pounds is to do something like that AND it should be a way to meet some people. I don't really like to do exercise in that fashion - I'm more a bike ride to the beach and walk along the sand for a while exercise person. However, even tho I did some of that in So Cal I still didn't loose any weight. So the Curves will be a way to see if that kind of exercise works.

Tonite, we are due to get some of the storms that have been hitting California for the past week. Parts of the Ark-LA-Tex got some of them the other nite with a couple of tornadoes hitting parts of Texas and Louisiana. We just got heavy rain with thunder and lightening. We are just due for rain tonite and possibly part of tomorrow morning. And to think, I don't even have an umbrella here... guess that will have to be a purchase fairly soon.

Lots of Rain Where I'm Not

2010-01-20T12:35:00.000-08:00

Spoke to my daughter this morning and found out Southern California is really getting pelted with rain. Also noticed the news reports last nite and just decided I need to get info from a verifiable source, which prompted the call.

I've lived in So Cal for 44 years and just recently relocated (well, almost all here) to Texarkana, AR. In all the years I've lived in Cali, there have been ups and downs with too much rain, not enough rain and then, occasionally, just the right amount. I've lived thru several El Nino storm seasons and far more LA Nina seasons. It becomes a big deal when we get lots of rain all at once.

What many people don't seem to realize is that So Cal is a semi-desert. By virtue of it being classified as that kind of a temperate zone, it doesn't get that much rain, generally, and when it does it becomes a big thing.

I checked into the Orange County Register via the Internet (how's that for greatness - my old hometown newspaper any time I want) and read several of the stories and looked at the videos. Then I checked some of the comments and it was amazing at how some people seemed to think the OC-ers were complaining about the rain. They ran on about how bad their snow and ice is and all that kind of terrible weather. Well, you nay-sayers, for us So Cal-ers, lots of rain in a very short period of time IS a big thing for us. It's comparable to your rain and ice storms; your heavy snow falls; your tornadoes and any other kind of weather you get in different parts of the country.

So leave the So Cal-ers alone and let them revel in their lots of rain, wind and very different weather. It's a very big thing when we actual have WEATHER.

Making Friends

2010-01-17T13:32:00.000-08:00

When I decided to make the move to AR, I thought I had better bring my baby with me. Now don't get all aglow, my baby is my beautiful Maine Coon cat otherwise known as Taz as in the Tasmanian Devil which he certainly can be at times. I was a bit worried since I would be bringing him into a house with two dogs and another cat.

The dogs are beauties: first Gretzky, about 7

years old, a very beautiful Siberian Husky with one blue and one green eye. He is a gentle giant and will easily give you loves, if deserved, but will definitely protect my granddaughter and other household members if the occasion calls for it. In Colorado he just loved laying out in the snow... what little they usually got in the area where he lived. One time when I was in Colorado for a visit we decided to go skiing at the local area, Monarch Mountain and Kirk decided to bring Gretzky along. Talk about taking someone to his home, well Gretz just loved it. He rolled around in the snow and was most happy to be able to sit in the snow bank and watch the goings on. I'm a bit worried how he is going to get along down here with the humidity. But as he did in the summers in Colorado, we can get him his own small swimming pool and he'll be happy laying it that on some of the hot summer days.

Then there is the lap puppy called, Sackett. He is about a year old, just a puppy at heart, and a mix of German Shepard and Mastiff. He definitely thinks he's the king of the hill and tries to show off all the time. But he is lovable and will be a gentle little guy as long as you rub his ears. Of course, once you do it, he thinks it's his responsibility to come by you all the time and make his ears available for petting. He is so darn cute you just can't resist when he comes looking at you with his sad, brown eyes. Yeah, I know you can't see them in this picture. I've always had a problem taking pictures of animals cause their eyes always come out looking like this. One day I with check with my photo guru, Judi or Farida, and see what I'm doing wrong.

There is also another dog in this family but she is currently in the St. Louis area with my son at his job site. Jade is about 9 years old, a black Lab, and is getting up there with some problems with her hips. I understand this is a common problem with Labs.

It seems the two cats, Taz and Stasia's cat, Shadow, didn't have any trouble bonding. Yeah, they hissed at each other a couple of times but that was gone within a day or so. They easily eat and drink out of each other's feeders and use each other's potty box... altho that's kind of changed now and they are respecting each other's privacy.

My biggest concern was how Taz would react and interact with the dogs. Taz has a dog buddy in CA... Skipper. Skipper is a small poodle who probably weighs less than Taz. They would always run around with each other and play. When Taz got tired or Skipper got too rambunctious, Taz would simply run away or run to his cat play house which was too high for Skipper to get to. But here, it's a bit different.

However, over time Taz and Sackett have gotten to be friends. At first it was a bit iffy (picture on left) with each of them scoping the other out. But now, after a couple of weeks, they seem to be working together and don't have a problem with each other.

They seems to respect each other and neither runs away from the other when they are near. Now all I have to do is make sure Sackett doesn't eat the cat food... seems he's taken a liken to it.

But it's nice to know most all the animals have made friends with each other.

Differences

2010-01-13T12:28:00.000-08:00

As I’ve been getting more used to the area here in Texarkana, I’ve noticed a couple of things that are significant differences for me. I’ve lived in the southern California region, specifically Huntington Beach, for 44 years. I got very used to certain things and how they worked. When you move, many things change… most of them good but occasionally some of them take some getting used to… for instance.

· Traffic – for the most part it is very light around here even during early morning and after working hours. The local streets don’t have much traffic at any time… at least that I’ve encountered. The interstate, I 30, is usually pretty heavily traveled no matter what time you’re on it. Kind of reminds me of the 405, except I 30 is a 2-lane divided highway under construction – and that makes it a pain in the butt. You also have these big 18-wheelers whizzing by all the time in this narrow 2 lanes and that takes a bit of getting used to.

· Newspapers – even tho I’m an avid Internet person, I still like my local newspaper. I loved the Orange County Register (ultra conservative tho it may be). There was lots of local, LA and national news. Lots of comics; too much advertisements; and good general news. Since I’ve lived mostly in “The OC” I never much bothered with the LA Times even tho it has an OC section. Down here in AR, you have a local paper, the Arkansas Gazette, which has local AR and TX news. It’s a pretty good paper. This past Sunday we got the Little Rock Gazette (that’s not the real name of the paper but I put it out in the trash so I can’t get it to get the correct name). It too has sufficient coverage. I guess it’s just a matter of getting used to something different. Perhaps the biggest difference is the local paper only has maybe 10 pages, a bit more perhaps but vastly different from the Register’s 30+ pages.

· TV stations – we get all the local stations with DirectTV, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, - BUT they all come out of Shreveport, LA. I think there is a local station here in town somewhere but I don’t know if it’s a true local station or one of the affiliates of the big networks. There is an area called “ArkLATex” which encompases this part of Arkansas and adjacent Texas as well as the northern Louisiana area. So you don’t get a whole lot of local Texarkana news but mostly stuff from Shreveport, LA. They do cover the Texarkana area (both AR and TX parts) but mostly key in on Shreveport.

· People – ah, here is the crux of the differences. People here are very, very friendly and actually look you in the eye. There is a demeanor of friendliness, politeness and just plain charm that is only located in the southern part of the US. I’ve lived on the east coast, west coast, Chicago area and Washington state area and believe me, there is a significant difference here in the south. The people you encounter in stores, public buildings and just everywhere are so polite and helpful. There isn’t the conservativeness of the OC nor the hustle and bustle of the LA (as in Los Angeles) areas. It’s kind of a hard thing to explain, but you will recognize it when you are in the south.

· Prices – living prices as in buying a home, renting a home or apartment, are sooooooo much less expensive than in OC. I can actually be living on a retirement income here and “live” not just “exist” as I had been doing in So Cal. I can rent a lovely apartment in a senior complex for less than half of what I was and still am paying for mobile home mortgage and space rent. I’m in the process of selling my mobile home in a senior complex so anyone who knows of someone looking for a nice 2 bedroom / 2 bath home 4 miles from the beach and close to freeways and everything else, let me know.

· Libraries and Post Office – boy was I spoiled when it came to venturing to public entities. The Fountain Valley library was close and easy to use. I would get my 4-6 books on a Tuesday or Wednesday and return them to the drop box on Sunday when there was no traffic. Likewise I would check out my PO box on Sundays and mail packages and letters when there was no traffic at the PO and generally very few people. Here the Post Office is a historic building in that it sits on the state line so part of it is in Texas and the other part in Arkansas. Kind of cool in a way but a pain to get to, park and go in the building. There is no automated packages area so you have to go to the counter on the regular post office hours. OK, so I have the time but it is an inconvenience. I got a library card and used their secure computers (we didn’t have secure Internet for several days) and that worked out OK. Here you can take out something like 20 books and keep them for up to 3 weeks. There is an automatic drop off box. And you can go on line, order the book you want to read and then go to the drive-up window and they will give you the book. That will work out OK once I get to that point where I have a few hours to read. (still have boxes to unpack).

There are still a lot of things I need to get used to and I’m sure I will. It will take time and I’ll probably feel a bit more adventuresome when I get my own apartment and my own things. It’s kind of hard living in one room and not having all my bells and whistles that I like. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun being at my son’s home with my daughter-in-law and granddaughter, but I want my own space. Hopefully that will come soon when I sell my mobile in lovely sunny southern California.

Hot Springs - First Adventure

2010-01-12T14:36:00.000-08:00

Our first adventure was Saturday 1/9/10 with a trip to Hot Springs, AR. Actually it was kind

of a spur of the moment thing that we decided Friday night. We had a few things to take care of early in the morning and then we got on the road.

We Mapquest-d and it said it would take us 1 hour and 55 minutes. In reality it only took us a

little over an hour and maybe 15 minutes to get to the beginning of the town. The road itself to HS is a 2-lane divided highway that was good driving … if you don’t mind 18-wheelers whizzing by and having to pass them. Interstate 30 is the main west \ east route thru Texas and Arkansas to wherever it finally goes. And there is a lot of commercial traffic with lots of different company trucks using it.

I frequently made mention to Jenia that the road reminded me of many roads I’ve taken back east… lots of shrubs and trees and rolling highway. Of course, at this time of the year everything is so stark and desolate looking. In another couple of months when all the trees and shrubs start blooming it is going to look lovely. But right now it looks so bleak.

As we were driving on route AR 7, we came across so many sights we want to explore. The biggest one was DeGray State Park. All the signs indicated it was a nice lake with cabins for rent which would be lots of fun in the summer. On the way home we took a detour and went down the road leading to the state park. The lake seems quite large and when our Internet gets up and going within a day or so, I’ll check out their site and see what there is in the way of

accommodations and such.

We noticed a lot of indications for horse riding which thrilled Stasia since she is an avid fan of horses and learned how to ride in Colorado. There is also a cruise on Lake Hamilton on Dixie-type paddle wheel boat.

That should be a fun thing to do. There is a duck-boat tour of Hot Springs and Lake Hamilton

. That will be fun since I’ve never gotten to do that kind of a tour in Boston which also has the duck-boats. It seems “season” starts around the first of March, weather permitting. So we will have to put all these things on our calendar for next trip to Hot Springs.

Since it was getting close to lunch time we stopped at a seafood restaurant attached to a nice hotel / condo complex. The shrimp was marvelous – what little there was of it to my salad. It was bay shrimp probably from local fishermen since all the catches were daily fresh. These shrimp have a little kick to them… a bit spicy for my tastes. But they were quite large and very delicious. The restaurant had the look of a tourist spot, to some degree, and looked like it would

be a hopping place in season.

I should say, at this juncture, that it was cold, cold and more cold for our trip. The south has been having some chilly temps lately and Saturday was no exception. It was about 24 degrees Farenheight and there was a slight wind blowing which made it feel much colder. My still-used-

to-So-Cal-weather body has been taking quite a beating over the last week or so. And this cold is more so because there is humidity in the air and the wind seems to go right thru your body (well mine in any case). So even though there were things to see near the restaurant, we all headed for the car- pronto.

There were several local fruit / vegetable and other things stands as we went along this lovely

country road. It truly was a “back road” even though it’s the main entrance to Hot Springs. It was windy and hilly and pretty and just a delightful drive from the interstate to the town.

Since Jenia had been to Hot Springs at one point

earlier in her life, she had a general idea of what the town was like. We found the Arlington Hotel and used its facilities and then walked around.

The Arlington was the epitome of elegance and sophistication in the 20’s when the baths and curative powers of the hot springs were at their prime. We took a tour of the baths and decided when we come back again (which we will in the spring or summer) we would take the baths and massage. The prices are quite reasonable and it looked like a fun thing to do.

It was interesting that the Arlington and all the other baths in the town were pretty much shut down for the day because the pipes had frozen in much of the city. I thought that was a crack up because this part of the country and certainly this particular city, hardly ever get weather this cold. It was a new adventure for the gal giving us the tour.
We did walk down the street from the Arlington and looked at “bathhouse row.” A lot of the baths have been shut down over the years, for various reasons. We did go into the Ozark Bath House which doubles as an Information Center for the city. We took the tour and viewed the different rooms. The gift shop had a book of the women’s fashions at that time… early 20’s. I picked it up and looked at it and saw many pictures which looked like some of the fashions my mother wore when she was a young woman. This whole area of Hot Springs must have been a very “happening” place in the 20’s and early 30’s.

On the way out of town we noticed the winery (and how we missed that going in is up for conjecture) and decided we would check it out on our next trip since we were all beginning to feel tired and were too cold to get out of the car. But it will definitely be a spot we will check on whence we make our return trip.

On the way home, we did stop at the DeGray Lake and took a slight look at the lake. It seemed quite huge and has lots of swimming spots. That will definitely be a fun thing to do even if we just take a lunch, some sunny afternoon… when it’s warm, and just spend a few hours sitting at the benches eating our lunch and swimming in the lake.

We are definitely planning a trip back to Hot Springs and will probably make it a weekend trip renting a cabin so we have the time to enjoy the many amenities available and get a good look at the town and all its historical sites.

Boxes, Blogs and Cold Weather

2010-01-06T11:36:00.000-08:00

Today seemed like a good day to forget about unpacking boxes. After all I spent most of yesterday’s morning and early afternoon unpacking the boxes in Stasia’s play room. Got all her books, toys, games and other stuff in places where she can at least access them. So I’m taking today off.

Spent a couple of hours this morning on the phone with the waste management (trash pickup) people trying to find out why they didn’t bother picking up our trash and yet picked up all the neighbors’ trash. Here in the south they have 2 days a week of trash pick up, Tuesday and Friday for our route. We dutifully got the trash out on Monday nite cause we didn’t know what time they picked up… it seems it’s quite early 5:45 AM. I called yesterday and then again today and they still haven’t made it. Hopefully Friday will be our lucky day.

When I mentioned to Dil, Jenia that I was surprised there were two pickup days, she mentioned that when they had lived in other parts of the south they always had 2 days probably because there is heat down here and it could get very pungent with trash sitting around for a week. Made sense to me.

Another hour or so was taken with phone calls with DirectTV to get the installation up and running. I kind of liked not having TV for the last week. We watched some movies and that seemed to take up some time. But a good portion of the other time that would normally be spent with the TV at least being on, we spent talking and reading. I’ve never been much of a TV watcher anyhow so I was just as happy not to have the TV. The only thing I do enjoy with DirectTV is the radio. For the most part I’ve been using Jenia’s laptop for music.

So today is my do nothing day.

This morning I spent a lovely hour or more getting caught up with Judi’s blog,Beauty and Bread: Views from the Range of Light. Judi has been my friend for more than 40 years so we have spent some fun, crazy and just great times together. Among her many talents is that she is a great writer and is actually a published writer. I spent the time this morning reading her blogs from mid-last year to her latest one. It was delightful to get caught up on all she has been doing and reading about her trips to Pakistan years ago.

One of the many things I will greatly miss with this transition to another part of the country , aside from the daily, or close to it, time with my daughter and family, will be the times I could jump on a train and be up in Fresno / Coaresgold to spent time with Judi. This past summer was fantastic cause we got to see a lot of each other and took some cool trips thru the Sierras and Tahoe. Now perhaps Judi will get a chance to come to the south and we can find some cool places to explore down here. As different and in some ways as similar as Judi and I are, she makes the best travel companion.

From reading her blogs, she has inspired me to become creative myself and write more in my blog. I do not put myself in a category anywhere close to Judi’s skills in writing, but I do enjoy put fingers to the keyboard and telling some tales. Now that I actually have some things to talk about, it will be fun to do some more blogging.

My other subject in this blog is weather. I’m in the SOUTH for goodness sake and it’s supposed to be warm. Ever since I got here on the evening of December 28,2009, it’s been C O L D. Of course for my still thin-blooded skin of southern California, anything under 55 degree Farenheight is cold for me. Yeah, Colorado can get cold but there is virtually no humidity up there and unless the wind is blowing, you don’t feel the cold. Here it goes thru my bones and I’m chilled all the time. We have the house temp sitting at 70 degrees and I’m wearing a sweatshirt over my long sleeve shirt. And now I’m hearing on the radio that we are due for some colder (did I actually here the announcer say it could get down to 20 tonite) and nastier weather tonite and tomorrow. Of course I’m probably going to bitch and complain when the humidity gets here in the summer and I’m dying of the heat. Maybe that’s why I’ve lived in So Cal for all these years.

A New Adventure

2010-01-04T13:16:00.000-08:00

It’s cold in AR / TX. As a matter of fact it rather reminds me of my days in Boston growing up. The winters were cold and snowy there… here it’s just cold. Although this morning when we left to get Stasia enrolled in school, there was " frost on the pumpkin," the temp was only 31 degrees and there was a light frost on the truck. Ah for the “cold” days of sunny So. Cal when the temp was 55 and I felt the chill.

It’s kind of dreary looking around here and that’s why it reminds me so much of Boston. The last couple of days have been quite chilly and overcast (although the sun was out yesterday a good part of the day). All the trees are bare of leaves and the shrubs and small bushes are just sticks. It will be lovely in the spring cause they get enough rain and humidity down here to make the floral and fauna pretty lush… that I’ll be looking forward to. In the neighborhood, there are several large trees – no, I have no idea why kind – but I will learn that later on.

This morning we got Stasia enrolled in the magnet school that’s about a 5 minute drive from the house. Schools in this district, and we’re in the Arkansas School District, start at 8:00 AM and get out at 3:15 PM. Stasia didn’t go to school today because we didn’t have all her records from the Pueblo West school. A fax was sent to CO but because they don’t start back to school till the 7th, we didn’t have the proper info for the AR district. The school here is called Kirkpatrick Magnet with an emphasis on Math, Science, Computers and Wellness. We took a tour of the school; met Stasia’s teacher and several of the other teachers as well. They have a great computer lab where the kids are currently making a robot that they will program (yes, they are teaching 3rd graders how to program) to do different things. I was impressed with all the things the children are doing in the 3rd grade and I think Stasia will do quite well and enjoy the school very much. Tomorrow (1/5) will be her first day and although she is a bit shy about it, she will do fine and make some new friends. Luckily there is a soon-to-be 9-year old next door and they have become fast friends already.

The area where the house is located is a nice upper middle class neighborhood close to a lot of things. The house is a 4 bedroom / 2 bath with a closed in patio room that runs the length of the back of the house. Stasia will have a separate room for all her toys and the patio room will be used for an exercise – dogs sleeping – Wi play area. It’s a very cool set up.

After we got the initial paperwork done for Stasia’s enrollment in school, she and I took a little drive to do some errands. One errand was to the post office for stamps. The building is very old and as you can see and read (hopefully) it sits in both states. Unfortunately I didn’t have my came in my es.

There are other interesting buildings in the area and after a stop at the Chamber of Commerce, I got some info about buildings and history of this area. I’m going to have some fun exploring all these places.

We are also relatively close to other parts of Texas including Dallas (about a 3 hour drive SW), Shreveport, LA (about a 5 hour drive SE) and San Antonio (about a 5 hour drive south). These are some of the interesting places we are going to investigate on weekends when Jenia is not working. Kirk is still working in St. Louis but will be able to get here more often because he can take a 10-hour train ride (overnite) to get here which will be more comfortable than a 9-hour pickup truck drive. The train station is in both states also. The front part of the train will be in TX and the back part of the train will be in AR.

Driving around the area is an adventure in and of itself. The streets are not clearly marked and you don’t know the name of them until you are right on top of them ready to make a turn. Of course there is a church on every other corner, on both sides of the street, since we are right in the middle of the Bible Belt. Once I get a better map of the area it will be easier to get around and get familiar. I do know how to get to Interstate 30 and there are a lot of stores and things off that. It’s pretty much the main drag where a mall, Books-a-Million (no Barnes & Noble in this area – it’s going to be B&N.com for any book orders), Big Lots and several good restaurants are located. Once things in the house get a bit more settled, I’ll have an opportunity to go a-searching.

One thing that has stood out right away for me is the warmth and charm of the people in the south. Sure they talk with funny accents, but then again, I’m sure I sound strange to them with my mixed Boston – west coast twang. In all instances, so far, there has been a politeness that I’m not used to and a friendliness that you certainly don’t find in So Cal. There is the common “ma-m” and “y’all” from store clerks and restaurant help. People, mostly the men, hold open doors for you and step aside to let you pass. I remember that from when Kirk and Jenia lived in other parts of the south, and that behavior is alive and well here in AR

Stay tuned for other episodes of transitioning from sunny So Cal to the incredible “sun belt south” of Texarkana, AR

Traveling Again on Back Roads

2010-01-04T13:09:00.000-08:00

A week or so before Christmas, I flew up to Denver to stay with my son and family in Pueblo West, CO (about 60 miles SW of the Denver International Airport) for the holidays and to stay with my granddaughter while my daughter-in-law transferred to her new job in Texarkana, AR. And this trip really did take the back roads from Pueblo West to Texarkana.

We spent the better part of six days packing up the Colorado house to move to the Arkansas house. We had a short Christmas because we still had to do some packing and get all the furniture and boxes into the trailer that was to be picked up the Monday after Christmas. We spent Sunday nite at a motel and then headed out on Monday morning.

The caravan included Kirk (my son) in a pickup with the 7 fish in a large cooler with heater and aerator to keep them alive and one of the dogs. The second vehicle was Jenia and Anastasia (daughter-in-law and granddaughter) with the 2 other dogs. I came up last in Kirk’s pickup with the 2 cats. The original intent was for Kirk to drive straight thru with Jenia, Stasia and I stopping overnite at a motel. However, we managed to make very good time and decided it would be better to forge ahead and go the distance in one day. And when we thought about stopping overnite at a motel with all the animals, it just seemed more prudent to trudge thru and get it all done in one day. Talk about being tired and sore and very fed up with driving – a 14 hour straight thru 836 miles trip will do it. Yes, for the most part the roads were clear and 2-lane divided highways. However, a very long part, and it seemed to go on forever, was traveled on a 2 lane back road trip. A good portion of the trip was in the dark and driving in the dark is not my forte because of my eyes and lack of depth perception at nite. Not to do that one again. But all in all, we made it to Texarkana, AR and stopped for the nite at a motel.

We had put the 3 dogs, 7 fish and 2 cats in the house and we hit the beds in the motel and zonked out for the nite. Kirk, being the early riser that he is, got up to feed the animals and check to see if the fish were still alive. After breakfast, we all headed to the house to start a bit of the organizing and early unpacking that goes with a move. The furniture and other boxes were not expected until Thursday so we got an opportunity to check out the town.

Texarkana is half in the state of Texas and the other half in the state of Arkansas. It’s a pretty old town but has a lot of history so, to me, it will be an interesting place to explore. It was easy to find Walmart and some of the other necessary stores. We found where the mall is, but I’m not sure I could find it on my own quite yet (and truth be told, I can easily do without malls). We did look at a couple of senior housing complexes and there are some interesting oddities to them. In Arkansas, I don’t qualify for senior housing because I make too much money with my Social Security and 2 small work pensions I receive. In Texas I might be right at the top of the qualifying range. And here’s the kicker for me, in California I would just be at the very bottom of the income range to qualify for senior housing. And so you ask, why am I looking at senior housing.

The reason for me to come with the family to Arkansas is to be Stasia’s nanny. Jenia will be working very long and different working hours which would make it tough finding a day care person to watch Stasia. Kirk is still working in the St Louis area and only able to come home, now, a couple of weekends a month. So I decided I needed a change and the ability to live in a less expensive area than southern California. And here I am, at the end of another back roads traveling trip.

One nice thing about this area, we are within a short day’s drive of many places: Little Rock, Shreveport and even San Antonio. We plan to take a couple of short weekend trips after we get everything settled with the house. There are still lots of boxes to be unpacked. It will be fun traveling again on some back roads and seeing so many new places; tasting new types of foods; and getting acquainted with different people here in the South. A new adventure and one with lots of interesting people, places and things to see. Keep tuned for my next back roads traveling adventure.

Birthday Adventures - And then a bigger surprise

2009-08-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

After the wonderful day at Disneyland on my birthday, we were all a bit tired so we decided to take the rest of the weekend doing laid-back stuff.... or so I thought.

On Saturday night we had planned to have a nice family birthday dinner at some restaurant. The more I thought about it, the more I thought we should do something else... a BBQ would be the most fun. We could eat, drink and swim at Carisa's... and Darren does a great tri-tip BBQ. So I asked Carisa if we could change the plans and do the BBQ at her place. She agreed but suggested we do the BBQ at Kim's (Carisa's BFF) since Kim and Charles had never met Kirk, Jenia and Stasia and Carisa was always talking about them. OK by me... I just wanted something low-keyed and easy for everyone. Boy, talk about pulling one off, Carisa did just that!! and then some.

Unbeknown to me, my darling daughter had hi-jacked my e-mail list and sent out e-mails to family and friends stating she was having a surprise party for me. I finally saw a copy of the e-mail and it was dated the end of July or at least it was printed that day from the copy I saw. Now you have to understand that Carisa has an extremly busy life (as do most young women today) with an almost 24/7 job, family needs, sporting activities and just the general things that go on with busy lives these days. So how she was able to pull this off is beyond me... but then that's my daughter and I know she can do anything she sets her mind to.

So on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 29 I blissfully walked into a surprise party with various family and friends all gathered together.

When I walked in the door of the club house at Kim's condo complex, I saw ballons, paper streamers and PEOPLE.... all of whom yelled, surprise. I looked around and saw faces I know but for some reason I honed in on my big brother, Bob. He, along with many others, was aiming a camera at my opened-mouth surprised face. I think I really noticed him because I had been stunned that I hadn't heard from him on my birthday. This was a big year for both of us. Bob turned 75 on Aug 16 and I turned 70 eleven days later... what a belated birthday present I was for him when he was a kid. Anyhow, there were other family members, current friends, former neighbors and just a wonderful mix of people.

My niece Arlene and husband Richard came from Seattle. Niece Laurie and hubby Ed along with kids Orion and Lucas from Woodland Hills. Niece Stacy, hubby Scott with kids Andrew and Jocelyn from San Diego. Former neighbors Teresa and Maryanne... current neighbor, Linda; friends Liisa and Ingrid; every-wonderful traveling companion Judi and her daughter Farida; Margie and Billy with son Bret. And of course, Bob, from the Boston area. Such a wide variety of personalities and histories - it was beyond belief.

And then I noticed the images showing on the screen... wild pictures of me thru my life. Carisa had hi-jacked pictures from the thousands that I'm converting to digital images. And boy did she pick some good ones. I keep telling people I used to be slim and there were the pictures to prove it - along with the different hair colors and styles as well as the clothing. Pictures of me as a kid, confirmation, high school graduation, family and friends from Boston where I grew up, college degrees, family vacations, neighborhood parties and just a bunch more from my life. It was enough to make you laugh, cry and just be amazed at what had gone on in my years. Some of the ones I though best were seeing my kids, Judi's kids when they were young and their being able to see themselves tonite with their growing kids. This party brought together my family, friends but also my kids' friends and gave them the ability to renew lives and friendships... and what a joy that is.

All along there were stories about me and particular people. I'm kind of a private person but apparently I get a little out of control with a couple of glasses of wine when I'm with people I love and trust. Did I really do and say some of those things?

The pictures that were taken that night are great. One of the best is all the cousins with all their kids. Of course there are many more cousins and many more kids who weren't able to attend. And the kids who grew up together: Kirk, Carisa, Farida (sister Nas wasn't able to attend), Billy, and Margie all being together with their kids... how much fun is that.

Thanks to all of you for attending and of course, my special love and thanks to my kids and their families for making this happen. It was totally unforgetable and I loved every minute of it.

My kids & theirs. Top row Devin, Darren & Carisa Childhood friends: Carisa, Billy, Kirk, Margie

Bottom Stasia, Kirk, birthday girl & Jenia

Relatives: Stacey, Bob, Pat, Carisa, Arlene My kids & theirs Kirk, Stasia, Devin & Carisa

Kirk, Laurie

Here's a whole bunch of family relatives. My brother Bob and some of his 9 kids & some grandkids

Me and my 2 kids and 2 grandkids

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A wonderful birthday surprise

2009-08-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

Since early this year, I've been planning my 70th birday day. I figured I wanted to do something fun, not really physically demanding, and most importantly spend the day with family. So I asked my daughter, Carisa, to plan to take the day off from work and we, Carisa, Darren, Devin and I, would spend the better part of the day at Disneyland... hey, I get in for free on August 27. Carisa said that could be arranged so that was the start of it.

When I told her I wanted to spend the day with family, I would have loved to think my son, his wife and my granddaughter would be able to spend it with me too. But being in 2 different states (because of Kirk's work), I would be happy with the family members who lived near me. As the time got closer, Carisa and I worked out the timing schedule and decided we would have a late lunch, go to Disneyland later in the afternoon so we could see the fireworks at 9:30 PM and then have a nice 4-of-us family dinner on Saturday nite (my b-day was on Thursday).

So here it was so quickly, August 27, and I would be getting ready to pick up Carisa, et.al and have lunch. But wait, my front doorbell was ringing and I thought it was neighbor, Linda. After all, she's the only person who comes thru the front door. I open the door and I see this darling little red-headed girl stading there. My mind doesn't quite compute but there stood my granddaughter, Stasia (short for Anastasia); along with my son, Kirk; my daugher-in-law, Jenia and the rest of the family, Carisa, Darren and Devin. Carisa had e-mailed- and phoned-planned to have the rest of my family come and spend the day with me. Was I ever surprised, delighted, greatful and happy! I could never have received a better birthday gift than to have both my kids, both my grandkids, and both spouses with me to spend my 70th birthday. It was magic... there's no other word to describe it. We had a delightful lunch and then headed for Disneyland.

The end of August in So Cal can be brutal: heat, heat, heat and sometimes either a great deal of humidity or dry as a bone and in the afternoon, no breeze, until some time after 5:00 or 6:00 PM. I've been somewhat incapacitated with a sore back and of course, the always present knee problems; so it was decided that I would get a wheel chair and be able to get around with no problems. We also discovered with a wheel chair you get to go to the front of the lines on any of the rides... very helpful. So we took in every ride we could and had a great time. At the Mad Hatter, it was decided (note I never mention that I decide anything) that I should have a hat. And I got this nutty thing which I had to wear stating it was my birthday... it was after all, and I might as well enjoy it.

Dinner was next on the agenda so we decided to go to Downtown Disney to the ESPN Zone. The first time I've every been to Downtown Disney and I live about 25 minutes from Disneyland. Somehow before we made it to the Zone, it was again decided that I should have my face painted. What the heck - we'd been acting silly all day and having a great time. So I sat and got my face painted.... and wound up looking like this. I didn't really know how I looked until much later in the evening... after a few too many glasses of wine. By that time, I couldn't have cared what I looked like. The evening was fantastic and I had my whole family with me... what more could I have asked for.

Devin and Stasia wound up in the video game room and they had a blast playing all the games. Stasia even beat Dev (by one point) at one of the games. Stasia also got to have her picture taken with Jackson from the Hanah Montana show. He was having dinner at the table just behind us and was kind enough to pose with Stasia and sign her autograph book.

It can only be stated that my 70th birthday has been the happiest and most enjoyable b-day I've ever had. To be able to have my whole family with me, and one part of the family the biggest surprise, was so totally inconceivable and so totally wonderful. Thank you, Carisa, and the rest of the family for making this the best ever. I love you all so very much.

Kirk, Carisa and the strangest looking birthday girl.

Is this any way for a grandmother to model good behavior?

All of us at dinner.

Trains, buses and trains

2009-08-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

A rediscovery... going someplace without using my car. Living in So Cal one gets very used to going places with a car, as if that were the only means of transportation available to us. But! I have discovered the joy of going a considerable distance by trains and other modes of transportation. It's not that I've never used trains before to get from point A to point B... it's just I don't usually prefer them. Alas, now that time is no longer a primary thought when it comes to going places, I have the leisure to explore other avenues.

When I lived in Boston in my youth and early 20's, I used the train often to go to New York. It was cheap; it didn't take all that long and it usually was fun especially when there were several friends as traveling companions. Also when I worked as a tour escort for a travel agency, I would take groups of people from Boston to New York for "theatre tours." We would take the train out of South Station and wind up four hours later at Penn Station is New York. Then there was the time when I visited my younger brother in Pennsylvania. I took the train from Dover, Delaware (which was closer to his home than Philly) to visit my older brother in Boston. As I recall I had to change trains somewhere, possibly New York, but memory fails me on that one. And of course there were the times when the kids were young and we would take the train from Santa Ana to San Diego. It was always fun to travel to San Diego by train cause the kids got a kick out of being able to move around on the trip and loved watching the ocean as we zipped by right next to the surf. Then there was a disscovery that I could take a train to visit my niece and her family in Woodland Hills. Chatsworth station on the Metroline is about 15 minutes from her home. A much nicer trip than the 405 and 101 especially in heavy traffic. Now that I stop to think of it, I don't recall there ever being a time I've driven up there when there wasn't heavy traffic.

Now I find trains and bus the easiest way to get to Fresno / Coarsegold when I go to visit my friend Judi. I simply pick up my daughter at her office and she drives me to the train station in Irvine. She gets to use my car, a newer one than hers, for the time I'm gone and easily picks me up after work the day I return. I get on the Surfliner for the one hour trip to Union Station. Then I shlep my luggage out to the bus which takes approximately two hours to get us to Bakersfield. Then back on the train to Fresno where it is convenient (as least she tells me its so) for Judi to pick me up.

The convenience of the train / bus / train trip is many-fold. First and foremost it saves me wear and tear on my car as well as wear and tear on my body. Then of course there's the cost: cheaper than gas and I get to see all the sights and don't have to worry about the nutty drivers around me. It is far more relaxing to sit, read, snooze, listen to my iPod or just look out the window and muse. The timing for the whole trip is about an hour more by train. For the convenience the train gives, it's well worth the extra time.

It also offers me a vicarious look into other people's back yards. I've often wondered: were the train tracks there first or were the house there first. Would someone willingly buy a home backing up to the train tracks? I certainly wouldn't but then it may be the only option for others. I don't think I would enjoy the constant sounds and vibration of trains whizzing by at various hours of the day and night.

On my last trip to Fresno I picked up an Amtrak vacation brochure that listed all the trips. Oh boy, was my mouth ever watering. I would dearly love to take the Denver to Chicago trip especially sometime around the end of fall just before big snows of winter. Then there's the coastal trip from Southern California to maybe Seattle where I have friends. Or how about the autumn foliage trip along the New England states for breath-taking beauty. I would love to take a trip where I had a bedroom set-up. I can just imagine being lulled to sleep by the motion of the train.

So tomorrow I get back on the Surfliner in Irvine for my next trip to Fresno / Coarsgold. Judi will pick me up and we'll decide if we want to go anywhere for the next couple of days or if we'll just hit Yosemite and do some hiking and then the Awanhee for our refreshments.... mmmmm I can taste the Chip Shot already.

2009-08-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

Recently my friend, Judi, and I decided to take a back road returning to her home in Coarsgold, CA from my condo in Lake Tahoe, NV. We had been up to the condo several times recently and had traveled on the more obvious routes of CA 120, the Tioga Pass and CA 180, the Sonora Pass. Well, those were lovely routes and we certainly have some beautiful photographs to attest to the scenery. This time we decided to “take a back road” and it got me wondering about taking back roads in life’s travels.
As we cruised along CA 50 from So Lake Tahoe, we decided to find a less congested route home and Judi suggested we take CA 49, a nice 2-lane road through little towns I had not seen before. Just getting off the main route showed so many things I have not really looked at over the previous years.

Perhaps a bit of background history is required here. I’ve spent the last 44+ years living in Southern California and been part of its hustle and bustle lifestyle. As such I’ve taken the quickest, most expeditious routes to everywhere and to do everything. Now that I’m partially retired, well pretty much retired but in the process of re-inviting myself for the next chapters in my life, I’ve decided I want to slow things down and really stop to smell the roses. Notwithstanding the terrible clichés, I now have the time to really slow down my life and look at things from a different perspective… ergo the desire to travel the back roads.

Going through all the lovely small towns on Rt 49, I realized I’ve never lived anywhere but a big city for all my life. I’ve never know the sense of community a small town affords. I’ve never really known the sense of everyone knowing my business and I knowing everyone else’s. I’ve not met my doctor or dentist in the grocery line. I’ve not seen my children’s teachers in any other capacity other than in a classroom during conference times. I wonder, could I have really lived like that and enjoyed it? I don’t know but in some respects I would like to try.

While traveling that back road I got to wondering how much of life have I missed by driving by on the superhighways and just been a “looker” on life rather than a “liver” of life. Maybe now that I’ve got the time, I can really learn to enjoy the smaller or less obvious characteristics of my life.

Where will these back roads take me? Who knows. Can I really do it… slowing down I mean? Hopefully yes, and with an understanding that I really want to work on re-inventing how I look at life and just what that means.

I’m looking forward to the back roads and I plan to travel on more of them.