Hello.
This is Bill. I have some thoughts I need to express using Billie’s Facebook.
You are all familiar with my cancer “issues” and my remission. I am grateful to God, my doctors, and all of you for your support through these past five very trying years.
This is Bill. I have some thoughts I need to express using Billie’s Facebook.
You are all familiar with my cancer “issues” and my remission. I am grateful to God, my doctors, and all of you for your support through these past five very trying years.
When we first received my diagnosis it was like nothing we had ever experienced before. There were the inevitable questions, tears and wondering “why?” As things got sorted out and a plan of action was formed, we became less fearful of the unknown and more proactive.
During this time, we became aware of a “circling-of-the-wagons” if you will. So many of our friends and family made it known that they were concerned and were praying for my recovery. This was something that, at the time, took us by surprise. Now that I look back on that time, I am no longer surprised by how our friends acted. We are blessed to have the best friends anyone could ask for and knowing they are there for us means so much to us.
When Billie posted the latest from my doctor about the remission, I expected some comments, of course, but the thoughts conveyed in those comments were overwhelming. I am in a constant state of awe by what our friends are capable of.
What I have learned through the actions of my friends is to be that same kind of friend to others whenever I can.
I know this sounds kind of hokey, but I am finding out it really is a wonderful life.
January 2
Facebook post from Tony regarding the death of James Aery, who was the dad/uncle on Fresh Prince of Bel Aire. Fnu wrote: "Funny how the death of a TV Dad can put your own Dad into perspective. As we start what is in essence a "bonus-year" of my dad, Bill Garrow being with us, this snippit from The Fresh Prince brings to mind how lucky Scott Garrow, Kathy Brown and I are that Bill and our Mom, Billie, have always been there for us and we never had to go through a scenario like this. Thanks to both of you and congratulations to both of you on your courageous fight against cancer which has been an inspiration to all of us. Oh, and nobody forget that Kathy is 40 today so she's old...."
We have been able to plan a surprise party for Kathy's 40th birthday. It will be held at their neighbor's house. Rommie has been a great help with the preparations. We bought most of the food on New Year's Eve and the rest today, including a giant birthday cake. The theme is Princess so we got princess decorations and cake. We are positive that Kathy has no idea about all of this. The party is tonight.
January 7
Kathy's party was lots of fun. She said that she felt that something was a little bit strange, but she was totally surprised. There were about 40 people, counting a few kids. We had more than enough food and drinks for everyone. The cake was delicious. We stayed until about 8:30, and I forgot to ask her what time the party broke up. She even liked the wine bottle cutter we got for her. I used Bailey's camera to get some of the photos.
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| Surprise! |
Last evening, we did a mystery shop at one of the McDonald's in Sparks. We bought five extra sandwiches to take to some of the homeless people but we found out that it is very difficult to find homeless people at night. We did finally find three men together about one block from the shelter, and two others close by. We drove over to Idlewild Park looking for one more, and found a man going through the trash. We were glad we had saved the bag with two sandwiches for him.
Tonight, we are going to go to Sally and John's for a baby shower for Michael and Nikki. The baby was a surprise, but we hope they will make a go of being a family.
January 8
The shower for Mike and Nikki was very nice. We met some really nice new people, and we caught up on the news with Ron and Stephanie, who were neighbors for our first 10 years in Sparks.
January 9
We took Bryanna and Bailey to lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. We had our first deep fried cheese curds - we could be in serious trouble because they were delicious. After lunch we hung out at our house for a little while, and then we went downtown to the Riverside to see Frozen. It was cute, and the music was beautiful.
January 11
This was posted on Facebook this morning. I think it is very cute.
A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.) Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except North Dakota, which she does not fancy). Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect.
1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').
2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
13.. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season. God Save the Queen! PS: Only share this with friends who have a good sense of humour (NOT humor)!We went to the Sierra Art Museum in Reno today. We almost took the girls there on Thursday but decided on going to see the movie instead and I'm very glad we did. Today, admission was free, when it is usuallo $8/00 per person for students and seniors. I'm also glad the girls were too tired from playing volleyball to go with us, because they wouldn't have liked it at all. We were even bored by most of it. I guess we just aren't into fine art.
Sally, John and Kristen, and Ron and Stephanie are coming over tomorrow night for homemade vegetable soup and bread. Next Saturday we are going to another game night. Our social life has certainly taken a turn for the better of late.
January 14
We had a great time with our guests on Sunday evening. My homemade tomato-vegetable soup and bread were a hit with everyone. We had a lot to talk about with our kids having all grown up together. Ron and Stephanie's son and daughter-in-law have two boys and they live on Maui, so they visit there yearly. Sally and John just became grandparents for the first time on Sunday.
Yesterday, we went on an assignment that Tony gave me. We parked at the corner of Arlington and Virginia, and walked for just under an hour, taking photos of interesting things. When we got home, I make a photo journal of what we saw and posted it on Facebook. Tony said it was good, and that he is thinking about what to assign to me next. I especially like these pics.
Kathy got a tatoo! I don't like them very much, but I sai
d that if she had to have a mid-life crisis, there are worse
things she could have done.
We got another assignment from Tony. We had to take pics of red things. Bill had the idea to go through the sewing box and make a collage. I found two red buttons, two bows, some thread, and an red package of needles. I also put red nail polish on two pennies. Tony liked the pics.
February 5
We went to San Francisco and Petaluma last week. Dr. Minor said he only needs to see Bill every three months, so we we'll only have to make the drive four times a year. We have been enjoying our stays more thanks to Brian and Monique, but we are very relieved that we will be able to do it less often.
We went a day early because we were expecting snow on Thursday in the mountains so we had a whole extra day to play. We took Brian to the Golden Gate Bridge and parked near a small marina on on the east side, below the bridge. We walked on a dirt road under the bridge to a parking area, and then down some stairs and back under the bridge to the other side where the large vista point is. It was a round trip of about 1.5 miles. Bill did great, but after the climb up and the stairs, he was pretty tired so Brian and I walked down to the car, leaving Bill at the small parking lot. We thought we'd only be a few minutes, but once we got in the car, we couldn't find the place where we had left him. We had to get on the freeway, drive to the next off-ramp, and then drive back to the original off-ramp where we finally found where we had left Bill.
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| This shack held machinery |
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| From the top of the road |
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| Under the bridge |
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| Vista Point |
On Friday, we went to San Francisco. We've never seen the 101 so uncrowded and it only took us a half hour to get there, so we had some time before Bill's appointment. We did a little bit of geocaching and that led us to a neat place we didn't know about. There was a place called the Wave Organ which had pipes coming from under the rocks. The pipes carried the sound of the water hitting the rocks, and it reverberated through the pipes. It was very interesting.
We also put out a cache in the park near Brian and Monique's house, using one of the containers they gave us for Christmas. It is called Georgette's Cache.
We had fun playing one of the games we got them for Christmas and Michelle came over with her girls to play on Friday night. That was really fun. The girls were so adorable.
We drove home on Saturday, doing a little bit of geocaching on Highway 37. We stopped at Mare Island, an abandoned military facility, and got a good photo.
We cached in Sacramento for an hour, and then went to the
Spaghetti Factory for dinner. The ride home was
very nice.
We are going to see Dr. Keiner today, about having Bill's ear finished. There was one more surgery that he wanted to do, but it was put on hold after the last lesion on his adrenal gland. Now, we can get on with it.
We are leaving tomorrow for Texas. It is going to be so much fun.
February 18
Our trip was good. We started out in Austin and drove to Kingwood to visit with Scott and Jennifer. The boys are getting big and are very smart. They kept us busy going to baseball tryouts, visiting an old town, and playing games. Once, in the car on the way to dinner, Brendan asked Carson to add numbers in his head, starting with 2+2 and doubling the numbers as they went along. He got up into the thousands before stopping and we were very impressed.
Their new dog had puppies a couple of weeks ago, and now they have six dogs so we got plenty of dog time. Bella and Murphy,
their original dogs are very sweet and have a lot of patience with the boys.
We also went for walks along their greenbelt and found a few caches with Carson and Brendan, but they didn't seem enthusiastic, so we didn't leave a cache behind for them to maintain as we had planned to do. We had plenty of downtime, too, just to enjoy being with them.
We had planned to leave on Sunday afternoon, because we didn't want to be in the way of getting ready for work and school on Monday morning, but Scott persuaded us to stay an extra night.
We left on Monday morning for Rosenberg to see Bill's Aunt Vera and Uncle Norm. We did a little bit of geocaching on the way, even though it was raining most of the time.
They have an adorable house that is just the right size. Bill's cousin Bonnie and husband, Eugene, took time away from their new business to come over for dinner and to go to lunch the next day.
We talked about old family stufff and they gave us papers from their geneology log to give to our kids
From there we drove to Holland to see Rollie and Donna, caching and enjoying interesting scenery along the way.
Our first day in Holland was the first day of sunshine we had. The sunset was beautiful.
We stayed with Aunt Betty because Rollie's parents are staying with them while searching for a house to buy. Her log cabin is lovely and we were very comfortable.
Aunt Betty took us to Saledo to go to some antique stores and we introduced her to gocaching. She had a great time helping us to look for treasures.
There was an old bridge in Saledo, which used to be part of the road, but is now part of the walking path. There is a fence lined with old bicycles next to the bridge - very interesting.
We visited our friend, Judy, who lives in Sun City, about 30 miles south of Holland. Her house is decorated beautifully, and we loved her bedroom.So cute. Judy takes care of "friends" dogs in her home, but you would never know it by the way it looks. It is clean and didn't have a hint of doggie smell even though the dogs are all inside most of the time. There were six dogs there at the time we were. All were overjoyed to have company.
Rollie and Donna prepared wonderful dinners for us (including Rollie's famous ribs,) and we enjoyed spending time with them. Rollie did such a wonderful job building the house and making it just right for them.
They gave us the official Bar Bell Ranch t-shirts that their son, Matt, designed for them.
We left too early to see Rollie and Donna, but Aunt Betty got up to see us off and we were on our way by 6 am for the drive back to Austin. We made great time with a speed limit of 85, so we had time to visit a few caches when we were within 10 miles of the airport. We went to one that was in a spooky cemetery and several in parks and historical spots. We almost got bumped in San Francisco, but they called for us to board the plane at the last minute. We saw a wonderful sunset over Lake Tahoe and I was able to get some good photos with my phone.
February 19
We are going to see Dr, Keiner this morning, for Bill's pre-op visit. His shearf will be reshaped to look more like an ear. The surgery will be on February 27.
We had fun playing one of the games we got them for Christmas and Michelle came over with her girls to play on Friday night. That was really fun. The girls were so adorable.
We drove home on Saturday, doing a little bit of geocaching on Highway 37. We stopped at Mare Island, an abandoned military facility, and got a good photo.
We cached in Sacramento for an hour, and then went to the
Spaghetti Factory for dinner. The ride home was
very nice.
We are going to see Dr. Keiner today, about having Bill's ear finished. There was one more surgery that he wanted to do, but it was put on hold after the last lesion on his adrenal gland. Now, we can get on with it.
We are leaving tomorrow for Texas. It is going to be so much fun.
February 18
Our trip was good. We started out in Austin and drove to Kingwood to visit with Scott and Jennifer. The boys are getting big and are very smart. They kept us busy going to baseball tryouts, visiting an old town, and playing games. Once, in the car on the way to dinner, Brendan asked Carson to add numbers in his head, starting with 2+2 and doubling the numbers as they went along. He got up into the thousands before stopping and we were very impressed.
Their new dog had puppies a couple of weeks ago, and now they have six dogs so we got plenty of dog time. Bella and Murphy,
their original dogs are very sweet and have a lot of patience with the boys.
We also went for walks along their greenbelt and found a few caches with Carson and Brendan, but they didn't seem enthusiastic, so we didn't leave a cache behind for them to maintain as we had planned to do. We had plenty of downtime, too, just to enjoy being with them.
We had planned to leave on Sunday afternoon, because we didn't want to be in the way of getting ready for work and school on Monday morning, but Scott persuaded us to stay an extra night.
From there we drove to Holland to see Rollie and Donna, caching and enjoying interesting scenery along the way.
Our first day in Holland was the first day of sunshine we had. The sunset was beautiful.
We stayed with Aunt Betty because Rollie's parents are staying with them while searching for a house to buy. Her log cabin is lovely and we were very comfortable.
Aunt Betty took us to Saledo to go to some antique stores and we introduced her to gocaching. She had a great time helping us to look for treasures.
There was an old bridge in Saledo, which used to be part of the road, but is now part of the walking path. There is a fence lined with old bicycles next to the bridge - very interesting.
We visited our friend, Judy, who lives in Sun City, about 30 miles south of Holland. Her house is decorated beautifully, and we loved her bedroom.So cute. Judy takes care of "friends" dogs in her home, but you would never know it by the way it looks. It is clean and didn't have a hint of doggie smell even though the dogs are all inside most of the time. There were six dogs there at the time we were. All were overjoyed to have company.
Rollie and Donna prepared wonderful dinners for us (including Rollie's famous ribs,) and we enjoyed spending time with them. Rollie did such a wonderful job building the house and making it just right for them.
They gave us the official Bar Bell Ranch t-shirts that their son, Matt, designed for them.
We left too early to see Rollie and Donna, but Aunt Betty got up to see us off and we were on our way by 6 am for the drive back to Austin. We made great time with a speed limit of 85, so we had time to visit a few caches when we were within 10 miles of the airport. We went to one that was in a spooky cemetery and several in parks and historical spots. We almost got bumped in San Francisco, but they called for us to board the plane at the last minute. We saw a wonderful sunset over Lake Tahoe and I was able to get some good photos with my phone.
February 19
We are going to see Dr, Keiner this morning, for Bill's pre-op visit. His shearf will be reshaped to look more like an ear. The surgery will be on February 27.
Bill had his final ear reconstruction surgery. Everything went well. He spent three nights in the hospital, but he felt pretty good, so he got some reading done.
Yes, having fun is our plan. We are finally having spring weather, after freezing for several months. I love being able to get out in the yard and work in the garden. We have been walking more often, and I even got Bill to be willing to take the dogs for walks. They love to get out, but Miele was such a puller that it made walking her no fun. So, we started using the harness we bought for her a few years ago. It makes a world of difference. So, now, she trots along, without choking, and Makie, tracks for us. She is funny to watch. She is the leader, and she goes from side to side, as if to make sure there are no dangers in our path.
In mid-March, we went to Lovelock to do a Port of Subs mystery shop. We drove part of the way back on a frontage road so we could do some caching. From the frontage road, we turned onto a dirt road, and from there, it got a little scary, because part of the road had washed out and we had to take a detour. We thought about going back, but we had come so far, and we could see the freeway about three miles away, so we kept on, finally coming out on the 95 bypass from I80 to Fallon. We found an old burned car, which made for a good photo.
We drove over to Sacramento in early April to visit Joe and Gee. We met them in Auburn first, to go to a park that Gee had heard about. It was Hidden Falls Park, and it was a beautiful place, with trails leading down to a waterfall.
Susie and Kurt started Game Night in December, something we have talked about for a while. I am so glad we finally are doing it, because we are having such a good time. Susie and Kurt hosted the first one, Pam and Ed the second one, we had the third one, and Sherry had the fourth. Sally and John are having the one next month. It will be interesting to see what happens when it is Greg's turn, because he doesn't seem to like to invite people over. Alan and Veronica are probably going to be the next ones to host.
We are going to San Francisco on May 1 for two days. We are planning to drive down to Canyon Country for Terri's May 17 wedding, and we'll stay there for a few days, and then Tony and Anais, will be here May 28 for the Tahoe Relay. Monique and Brian will be coming over for two days to see them.
Bailey's baseball season has started. We missed the first game, but we are going to try to go to all the others. Tonight will be our first game. Her team has gotten really good, so going to the games is really fun.
July 15
Susie and Kurt started Game Night, which is something we have talked about doing for a long time. We have a good group with the only newcomers being friends of Susie's. There are the Spinolas, the Artzes and the Shannons, which isn't as weird as it might be, since they are divorced. They go to movies and out to dinner occasionally, so they seem just like they always did when we get together with them. We have been playing the game Cards Against Humanity, an adult game because of the subject manner and we have a great time. The host for the month provides the main course and everyone else brings something to add to the meal.
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| Beautiful Day |
In early May, we drove to Canyon Country to visit Joline and Bill for four days. We had a relaxing visit. We had told her that we didn't need to be entertained or to go anywhere, but they took us to Ventura and we had a lovely day. We went to a swap meet and walked out on a pier before going to a very busy restaurant near the beach for the best fish and chips we've ever had.
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| We took a groupie |
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| The Bills |
On the way home, we stopped at a place on 395 near Bishop, called Manzanar, which was an internment camp during WWII. It was an awesome experience, and not in a good way. We felt such awe for the people who were able to survive such treatment - their homes and livelihoods stolen away from them for several years. This is a place everyone should visit with their children. Too many people don't understand all that went on in the name of being "good" Americans.
Tony and Anais came to visit over Memorial Day and Tony and Kathy ran in the RTO178. They were on a 12 person team who ran a relay from Reno to Truckee, around Lake Tahoe, through Carson City and Virginia City, and back to Reno.
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| Waiting for the run to start |
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| Kathy and Tony at the summit at 2:00 am |
I volunteered at the finish line, so I was there when their team finished. Monique and Brian drove over for three days, so they had the chance to spend a little bit of time with Tony and Anais, and Kathy and the girls. Rommie was helping out with the RTO in Carson City, so he didn't have much time for visiting.
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| Kathy, me and Anais (being photo bombed by Tony) |
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| Kathy and Tony at Emerald Bay |
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| Tony found horses |
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| Anais found a spot to relax |
Tony took us on trips after the run. One was to Pyramid Lake and the other was to Lake Tahoe. he wanted to follow the route of the run. Kathy went with us and we all had a really great time.
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| Anais and Tony flew first class |
We've done a lot of walking and we've gone to the pool several times just to get some exercise. It has been really hot since July began, so we try to get all our errands done early in the day. I have been taking Mackie with me when I walk te 5 am. She loves to go, and she has learned not to pull. The only problem with her is when she sees a rabbit or another dog, she gets really excited and wants to run towards it. The other problem is when Miele wakes up before we can sneak out of the house. I just can't handle both of them at the same time.
July 16
Tomorrow, Bill will be having a small surgery to remove a squamous cell carcinoma on his bottom lip. I didn't even tell anyone except the kids.
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| Just before |
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| Just after |
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| Two days after |
The excision went fine, except, because they had told us that he could have breakfast, they wouldn't sedate him so he had to have the procedure done with a local anesthetic. He said it hurt like hell.
In two weeks we will be going to San Francisco. We had been planning to take Bryanna and Bailey to San Francisco the last few days of July and the first few days of August to play tourist and to visit with Monique and Brian and the family, but Bailey (14!!) made the all-stars softball team, so she and her Rommie will be going to Tuscon for two weeks for tournaments, and that trip starts at the end of July. That was going to be our only vacation this summer. We had worked it to coincide with Bill's oncologist appointment in San Francisco on August 4, so we now think we're going to drive up to Mt. Shasta in northern California for a couple of days, after Bill's doctor visit, and just stop at everything that looks interesting. That country is so beautiful, and whenever we've driven through it, we've been on our way to or from somewhere and we haven't taken the time to really enjoy the area. It really isn't that far away from us.
We hope we'll be able to plan a trip with the girls during Christmas break.
I have not liked our front yard from the day we first saw the house, but I was working, and then Bill got sick, so we didn't do much with it. Finally, about one month ago, I got ambitious and decided to change it a little bit. Eventually, we'd like to get rid of a lot more rocks, but for now, it, at least, has a little bit more character.
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| Before |
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| During |
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| After |
The bushes, which I had to constantly cut back in order to be able to see down the street when pulling out of the driveway, were very hard to dig out, so we paid Susie's son, Nick, to do that part for us. We did the rest. Now we have a honeysuckle, three rose bushes, snapdragons and lantana along with a few allysums under the rose bushes. We are very happy with the outcome.
Our lawn was looking gorgeous a month ago, but I think the heat has taken it's toll on it, so we have some bad brown spots. I guess there is no remedy except for cooler weather.
Something else I did was paint the bistro set. It went from a harsh white to a soft green,
Our peach tree is loaded and so is the older of the two blackberry bushes.
July 24
Today is Scott's 42nd birthday
We got the results back from Bill's surgery. No cancer cells!! Yay. He s heeling well and will get his stitches out tomorrow,
August 1
We went to Petaluma for a good visit, in between medical visits. They had the kids over for a barbeque, which was just a lovely afternoon. Haley, Riley, Eric, and Emily are such fun kids.
We finally got to go to Alcatraz, something we have long wanted to do.
We took a long way home, through Lassen National Park.
Unfortunately, it was raining when we were trying to explore the park, but we
still had fun. We stayed in a bed and breakfast inn near Lassen, that was not
terrible, but the restaurant was only open for breakfast, and not until 8 AM,
so we had to wait. There was just a menu that we had to order from, rather than
a nice breakfast served family style, like we are used to.
October 9
So, summer has gone by and we're into fall. The nights are cold, but the days are getting up into the 80, so the weather is perfect. We kept busy throughout the summer. We enjoyed going to Bailey's softball games and, now that school has begun, we're going to both girls volleyball games. So far, we've only gone to home games, but we are planning to go to a couple of the away games, too.
I went to Picasso and Wine with Susie, Pam, Sally and Kristin. It was so much fun, and we painted masterpieces. I was really pleased with mine. Susie and I are going to attend a class at the Museum of Art next month, on portrait painting.
Joe and Gee drove over from Sacramento with their grandsons, JP and Lucas. They are such good kids. They had a blast playing with Bill in the park. We took them to see the bats under the McCarran Bridge and we swam with them at the Nugget. The visit wasn't long, but it was so good to see them.
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| JP and Lucas waiting for dinner |
The last time we went to San Francisco, we took a couple of extra days and went to Alcatraz with Brian and Monique. It was a fascinating place.
They had two of the kids and their families over for a barbecue. We watched each others kids grow up, and it's great to be able to get together with them. I wish we could have a real reunion with all of us.
After our San Francisco trip, we took a few days for a side trip to Lassen State Park. The drive was lovely, despite lots of smoke from all the fires that have been plaguing northern California for several weeks. We stayed in a B & B called the St. Bernard Lodge, that wasn't great, but it was adequate, and we enjoyed our time there. The park was lovely. We would have enjoyed doing some hiking, but it rained the entire time we were there, so we only got out of the car a few times to walk around in order to enjoy the sites. We'd like to go back again. We will stay at a different B & B in Chester, which we went to see while we were there. It had rocking chairs on a cute front porch, and it was within walking distance of the restaurants.
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| Boiling Mudpots |
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| Reflective Lake |
In August, our Maui friend, Carolee, was visiting her nephew in Auburn, so we drove over to have lunch with her. She is looking really good, after being sick for a long time.
We went to the Outback with Susie and Kurt and we've gone out with Earl and Louise, Greg and Sherri and Alan and Veronica, so our social life has picked up this year.
The yard is looking great. Because the grass had so many dead patches, I spread some seed and good soil over them, and they've grown and done well.
We've begun taking some of the foliage down to nothing, trying to get ahead of the cold weather and the dead leaves. Bill cleaned out the sunroom gutters for the first time since we moved here, in 2005. We got the furnace checked, and had the carpets cleaned. The tomatoes continue to give us delicious fruit, and we hope we won't get a frost for a few weeks, so we can keep enjoying them.
We've been spending our afternoons in the yard, reading or listening to music. We know we don't have a lot of time left for that before the cold sets in. The dogs like to join us.We've been going to the pool for our exercise because I have a Baker's cyst in my knee, and I'm trying to get it to heal without any intervention.
Mackie had what was thought to be tumor on her shoulder, which we had removed. The doctor thought it was cancer, but turned out to be only a clogged hair follicle. It was a lot of money and a lot of worry over a simple thing.
We've been enjoying game night with our friends. Sherri has had it at here house several times, and Susie and we have had it twice. The Artzes will probably have it soon, now that their summer travels will be coming to an end. It's so much fun when we can all get together. Sherri will be going to London next week to meet with Heather. It sounds like a wonderful trip.
We have decided not to have our party at Christmas this year. Instead, we'll have it in January, after all the festivities of the season are over.
We're making tentative plans to take Carson and Brendan on a trip next year, probably at spring break. We thought about a cruise, but Scott said that wouldn't be something they would enjoy, so we are think of taking them to San Antonio on a train. We haven't even talked to Scott and Jenn about it, yet, but we think it would be a lot of fun.
November 15
We have a stubborn leaf on the little maple tree in the front yard. It refuses to fall off.
It finally fell on November 22.
December
Bill has been able to help me with the fall cleanup this year, which makes the job so much easier.
Our friend, Christie, who was seriously hurt in a head-on collision in April, near Tonapah, on the way to Las Vegas with her husband, Cliff, is finally getting out and about. We went for a nice relaxing walk by the river in Reno in October.Our plans for taking Carson and Brendan on a trip have been changed. Scott and Jenn have plans for Easter break, as well as the first couple of weeks of the boys summer vacation. After that they will be involved with sports. So, we will plan a trip to see them during the spring, and, with any luck, we will be able to take the boys for a Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday.
We changed our house around a few weeks ago. We moved the office to the guest room, after removing the fold-out sofa and giving it to Kathy and Rommie. The dining room is now out in the sunroom, and our recliners and the TV are in the great room. It is wonderful to get up in the morning, and be able to sit in our chairs without freezing. We just keep the doors closed between the great room and the sunroom, and the heater does it's job of keeping us comfortable. When the sun is out, and the days warm up a bit, we can keep the sunroom doors open so the dogs can wander in and out.
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| Before |
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| After |
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| Sunroom after |
Donna, Betty, and Judy came to Lake Tahoe in October for their birthdays and they spent an afternoon with us. We made them pulled pork sandwiches, with cole slaw, and Bill helped me make an apple pie for dessert. Lunch was a hit, and we had a wonderful visit.
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| Donna Bell, Aunt Betty and Judy Duke |
We had Thanksgiving at Kurt and Susies. Nick and Chris were there with their families, and we played games after dinner. It was a good evening.
Dec 5
We spent the weekend after Thanksgiving with Monique and Brian, because Bill had to see his oncologist on Dec 1. We had a little bit of a scare on the drive over. We saw some highway patrol cars off to the side of the freeway, a couple of miles east of Dutch Flat. One of the officers was crouched down, and we later realized that she was tossing out a spike strip. About two minutes later, Bill saw the lights of an approaching police car in the rear-view mirror, and as I turned around to look, we saw a car in the left lane loose two of his tires, but he kept on going. We realized that the police were chasing him, and we were afraid he was going to lose control and hit us because he was overtaking us, even with two tires missing. So, Bill pulled into the left lane in front of him, sped up and passed the truck that had been in front of us, cut back over in front of the truck and took the Dutch Flat off ramp. When we got to the top, we started slowly down the on-ramp to get back on the freeway, thinking we would be behind the police and the other car. When we looked back, before merging onto the freeway, we saw that the car had crashed just into the underpass and the truck had pulled over in the merging lane. So, we were able to get back on the freeway safely. We wonder how long the traffic was stopped by that, and we were glad that we weren't stuck behind it. We also wonder what the guy had done.
Dec 17
Our Christmas game night was at Susie and Kurt's house. We all had a great time, but we didn't play any games, We just talked and ate for five hours. Bill won the ugly sweater contest. He got a bottle of delicious eggnog and a ribbon to add to the loveliness of the sweater.
We completed our Christmas shopping by Dec 15 and the wrapping was underway.
Mackie enjoyed a little bit of snow on December 15
December 18
We took Bryanna and Bailey to see the play, Ham For the Holidays, at the Bruka Theater in Reno last night. It was a good play with lots of double entendres and lots of laughs. They didn't get home until after 11 so I'm sure they were tired at school today, but it was a wonderful evening. We got new beds for the dogs and they seem to like them.
December 23
Bryanna and Bailey came over to pick us up and we all went to a movie and dinner. It was so strange having Bryanna drive us somewhere. It was great not to have to take them home afterward. We saw "The Theory of Everything," and we all really enjoyed it. We had dinner at the General Store at the Nugget. It was a really fun night.
December 24
We just returned from celebrating Christmas Eve at Rommie's mom's house with many of his family members. They all get together there every Christmas Eve and we are fortunate to be included. We had a good time with good food, games and lots of conversation. Again, we forgot to take very many photos, but we did get some of Bryanna and Bailey and their cousins, Brittany and Allison, While we were at Grace's house, we got a little bit of a snowstorm - just enough to cover the windows on the cars with a layer of ice.
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| The gang ready for the gift exchange |
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| Allison and Brittany |
We got a photo card from Scott and Jenn with pics of the boys and their five dogs. The boys are growing up so fast.
Christmas Day
The morning was very fun and relaxing. We got to the Brown's at 7:30. The girls opened their stockings and then Rommie came out and the presents began.
Kathy had made Rommie a wonderful wall hanging for his office. He found it right away, hanging on the front door. He was quite happy with it.
We all got great presents. Rommie and Kathy were pleased with the sheets we got them. I hope these ones will last longer and fit their deep mattress better than the last ones we got them, The girls were happy with all the clothes, shoes, and accessories they got from us and their parents. Bry got the charger/USB for her car that she wanted, so she will be able to play her music from her phone on her car radio.
After presents, Rommie and Kathy got breakfast finished. Things had been started, monkey bread baking, sausage gravy simmering, and bacon ready to go. All they had to do was cook the eggs and biscuits. We had a delicious breakfast and then sat and talked for an hour or so before we came home to do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day.
It was a very good Christmas.
I posted this on Facebook and got several comments.
The following is a letter to the editor that was published in the Reno Gazette Journal on December 24, 2014.
I have lived in this area since before I-80 went through town. I can’t believe I can’t find anything offered for a 14-year-old girl to do during winter break. Nothing.
Having them off school for three weeks plus with nothing to do but sit on their phones and text and Facebook is ridiculous. It’s ruining our kids, making them anti-social and a big pain in the butt.
This school district is failing in every aspect. Our kids sit around on their phones — not talking — and whine to each other how they hate their parents and wish they were dead, so that other kids will feel sorry for them. This goes back and forth, the drama is so thick, it is just insane. I believe if they had more options to do other things, like I did back in the ’70s, (it would help). PE wasn’t an option it was MANDATORY. What is up with that?
The kids are walking all over their parents these days and all family values have gone out the window. It starts with parents but needs to follow thru with the school district. Somebody please help our kids!
Sharon Mohr,
Sparks
Sparks
And here is my indignant response to that letter. It will be published tomorrow.
Sharon Mohr (RGJ Voices, Dec. 24) says today’s teens do nothing but “sit on their phones and text and Facebook” and “whine to each other how they hate their parents and wish they were dead.” I feel sorry for Ms. Mohr, to have such a jaded outlook on today’s teens. Has she not seen and read news reports about kids who use their time productively to help those less fortunate; kids who hold down jobs to support a car; some even work to help support their families? Bad teens are in the minority!
She says “this school district is failing” for not providing kids with things to do during school breaks. Why is the school district responsible for raising kids during school breaks? Isn’t that what parents are for?
She says “this school district is failing” for not providing kids with things to do during school breaks. Why is the school district responsible for raising kids during school breaks? Isn’t that what parents are for?
“Kids are walking all over their parents.” If that is what is happening with her kids, she and her kids certainly do need some help. But the school district is not the problem.
As a kid in the Los Angeles area in the ’60s, I read, visited friends, volunteered in a nursing home, kept the house clean and cooked meals while my parents worked. I kept out of trouble, without help from the school district.
Billie Garrow,
Sparks
Sparks
Billie Garrow Thank you all for your comments. Gee, I agree with you. I had 455 words in my original response, but I had to trim it to the 200 words allowed in the letters to the editor section.
I cited examples of local kids who volunteer their time at the food bank as well as kids all over the country who give their time and talents to help others. Unfortunately, the stories in the paper and on the news usually deal with the bad news, and only throw in feel-good stories when space permits. I know there are more good kids than bad. I mentioned Bryanna and Bailey, as being typical teens, keeping their grades up, holding down responsible house, dog, and baby-sitting jobs, I also talked about how Joline and I weren't angels. We had very strict parents, and we took chances and did things that would have gotten us spankings (oh the horror - we were spanked!!) I think the worst thing we did was swim in the pool when our parents were at work. We had fights (some of them real doozies,) but we protected each other and I don't think our parents ever found out that we weren't angels. During our three months off school, we read, played endless games of Monopoly and Canasta and kept ourselves busy without whining about having nothing to do. I don’t remember ever whining about being bored. There weren’t enough hours in the day for all the fun we had. To be fair, there are a lot of kids out there without any responsible parent. A lot of kids get bored, and get into trouble, but to blame the school district is just wrong. I cited examples of local kids who volunteer their time at the food bank as well as kids all over the country who give their time and talents to helpothers. Unfortunately, the stories in the paper and on the news usually deal with the bad news, and only throw in feel-good stories when space permits. I know there are more good kids than bad.
2 hrs · Edited · Like · 2 Cathy Eaton-Thomas You are so right,, I agree times gave changed but the district is nit responsible for our kids. Period. Get them involved in community service, read to the children at the library, Food Bank, humane society, and Rainbow Girls is a good outlet for friends and helping others, I know Sparks has a great Assembly. That lady needs to get a life!
Anton Michael So, I'm on vacation from work this week and my boss provided NOTHING for me to do during my time away. Could you jot them a letter too? 'Presh......Craig Werner Billie....Kudos...Couldn't agree more. You and I grew up in the same place spent some of our time together (a lot of it, actually) and we somehow found/made things to do (when our parents didn't have things for us) and somehow turned out pretty damned O.K. (if I do say so myself). The problem isn't the kids or the schools, it's the parents and the society in general.
Here comes 2015.
