2008 Canadian Summer, Eh? Part Two - Settled In

Settled In For the Summer

July 15 – Tuesday

A day off is a wonderful thing.  We just messed around for most of the morning.  Around 10:30, we headed to Kelowna pick up some post cards, an alarm clock, and a printer, so I could print up some more business cards.  We figured a little portable one would be a nice addition to our office. 

We did some caching, but it was really hot, so we didn’t do very much.  When we got home, Bill started to hook up the printer and discovered that the sales clerk had been wrong about “any USB cord will work with this” so we couldn’t get it going.  We passed the rest of the day reading and relaxing.

July 16 – Wednesday

We tried out our new alarm clock, which we bought so that on Saturday morning at the cottage, we will be able to get up by 6:30, eat breakfast and get back here to work by 8:30.  We thought it would be nice to put it on the edge of the kitchen counter so we could see it from the bed and be able to know what time it was during the night without having to pick up a cell phone from the bedside table.  Unfortunately, the thing ticks so loud that we ended up putting it in the bathroom so we wouldn’t be able to hear it.  So much for knowing the time.  Of course it wouldn’t matter, but I have to open the gates by 6:30, three days a week so when I wake up at 4:30 or 5:00, and see that it is light, I need to know the time.  

Because I had the morning free, I thought I could borrow a cord to hook up the printer until we could buy one, so I could have some cards with me in the store that night.  I couldn’t find anyone who had a spare cord, so I drove into Westbank to buy one at Staples.  While there, I explored the town for a while and found another fruit stand.  I bought some cherries and some apricots.  We are loving the fresh fruit around here.  When I got home, I hooked up the printer, downloaded the software, and got it running all by myself!  That was really quite a feat, because, Bill is usually the one who takes care of that stuff.  I got the cards printed, but I wasn’t happy with the speed of the printer nor the fact that I had to hand feed each page into it.

I could see Bill raking, doing the recycling, watering, and doing general outdoor stuff from our picnic table, where I had set up the computer and printer.  He was so busy and I felt a little guilty, but he did get off work at 2:00 and I didn’t have to start until 4:00.   

I just got off at 9:00 and I had a great time at the store.  It was busy, but not frantic.  When I got there, there were 13 of the 15 field (overflow) sites available, and I booked 9 of them without any mistakes.  That probably doesn’t sound like anything special, but when you add the extra fee for kids, extra tents, and guests, it can get a little bit complicated.  

Bill joined me in the store from about 6 to 8, and that also made it more fun.  Jodi was only there for a total of 20 minutes, in three minute chunks, mostly to check and see if I needed any help.  She also took some of the cash away, which I was happy about, because I told her I don’t like having several hundred dollars in the register.  She said she was expecting me to call her with questions and was surprised that she hadn’t heard from me.  She checked all my bookings and visitor records and said they were perfect.

Tomorrow, I’ll be in the store from 9:00 to 1:00, clean the washrooms with Bill, and then we’ll be off to the cottage for a long holiday.  

July 19 – Saturday

We really enjoyed our time off.  We had dinner at the trailer at 3:30 so we could get an early start.  We headed for Costco and bought a few provisions and then we were on our way.  We did some caching.  One was at the Kelowna sign, one at a creek, and one at the airport.  

The cache was near the "K"

We also looked for one which we had tried for a couple of weeks ago.  This time we knew we had to drive all the way around to the other side of the airport to get to a dog park, and we found it, but the thistles were so thick that we gave up pretty quickly.  It wasn’t worth the search.  

We got to the cottage around 6 and got settled in for a relaxing evening.  We read until dark and got a great night’s sleep.  On Friday morning, I got up around 6 and watched a little TV, which put me back to sleep, and Bill rolled out around at 8ish.   We had picked up bacon, pancake mix, and real maple syrup so we could have a real breakfast.  Bill got the barbeque started and I prepared everything while he barbequed bacon.   Question – how can bacon be burned and raw at the same time?  We’re going to ask a couple of the campers how they manage to do their bacon directly on the grill, and it comes out perfectly.  

After breakfast (the pancakes and eggs were superb) we went out on the deck in our jammies to read to the sound of the water lapping the shore.  I fell asleep in the lounge and  didn't wake up until after 11!  When I went in to get dressed, Bill found a large bag and picked up a few trash piles that had been left after yard clean-up. 

He even wokrs on his day off

That's the way to relax

 So, I decided to take a walk.  I soon discovered that our road only goes on past 4 houses and dead ends at a driveway.  When I walked the other way, I found a community bulletin board and found out that there are concerts in Kopje Park or others in the area every weekend, so I decided that we should check it out. 

                                                                                            

                                                                                    

We drove over to Vernon via back roads and we found a cache on the way.  It would have been much closer to drive to Winfield for the milk we needed, but what fun would that have been?  There was a new type of coin (to us) called a Pathtag, which you can log and keep for a collection, so we now have an official Geo-collection.  As we got there the sky opened up and dumped rain on us so heavy and fast that we had a hard time seeing out the car window. 
Luckily, we were right next to an antique store, so we had a place in which to take shelter for a little while.  We later heard on the radio that Kelowna and Westbank were having another major storm and several boats had sunk.  We found a store to buy some milk and corn on the cob and we got gas at the unbelievably low price of $139.4 per liter.  A huge savings of 5 cents from the last time we got gas.  

When we got back to the cottage, we had barbequed hot dogs, corn and salad.  At 6:15, we drove the ¼ mile to the park for the evening concert (hey, it was uphill and we were taking chairs and blankets, so we didn’t want to walk), only to find that it was cancelled due to the threat of thunderstorms.  So we went back to the cottage and picked some cherries and apricots to take back to camp for the week.  After that we read in the incredible brightness of the sun on the deck until it got too cold to stay out.  We watched “Wedding Crashers” and got to bed just after 10.  

This morning, even though we had the alarm set for 6, both of us woke up at 4, and couldn’t get back into a sound sleep, so at 5 we decided to get up and get ready to go.   We watched a half hour on the comedy channel and left at 5:40.  We had a wonderful drive back because there was no traffic and we made all the lights going through Kelowna.  We got back in just 40 minutes.

July 19 – Saturday continued.

We had time to put all our stuff away and sit outside to read before having breakfast.  We decided that we liked being able to sleep at the cottage for two nights.  We have to figure out how to pack without so much hassle.  The problem is that we didn’t bring all that many clothes with us from home, so we can’t just leave things at the cottage for the next trip.  We did leave our swim suits, water shoes and big, fluffy beach towels there along with spare toothbrushes, toothpaste and shampoo, so we aren’t lugging them back and forth.

It was a typical Saturday.  As the people in the rental trailers moved out, Bill washed trailers and then he raked the grounds and watered.  Pat is quite a water fanatic, which is why the grass is so green and lush. Unfortunately, the trees suck the water up so it takes a lot of watering to keep it that way.   When his work day was over, he went home and showered and napped until I got home.

I spent more time in the store which freed Jodi up to work on other things.  I have gotten proficient at checking people in.  It sounds as if that would be easy, but we have sites that run from $48.00 to $60.00 per night, depending on where they are, if they are 15 or 30 amps, if they have cable, and if they have sewer.  Also, we charge for kids, and boats, so no two check-ins are ever the same.  After the store, I went to the house to start lunch, wash and dry the mattress pads from 6 trailers, sweep and wash the floors, vacuum and iron.  I finished at 3:30 and made my way home to shower and take a wonderfully refreshing nap.

Sunday and Monday – July 20 and 21

Same old stuff, different days.    I’ve mentioned all these people so I’ll tell a little about who everyone is.  Pat and Leroy are people we met at the Kamaole Sands pool in Maui in 2004, after we had already decided to move back to Sparks.  We enjoyed their company, and we invited them to Thanksgiving dinner with some of the other Kam owners down at the pool.  They have been staying in our condo every year for about one month ever since.  

Kari is their oldest and the only daughter and she is married to Alan.  They have a two-year- old boy, Ethan and another baby due in January. They both work at the campground occasionally, but they also work at a local market, he is a pharmacist and she works in the bakery.

Darren is their older son, married to Jodi.  Jodi is Pat’s main office assistant.  They do all the reservations and bookings which is a very complicated process, along with other things I can’t even begin to understand.  Darren is pretty much in charge of the grounds work along with Leroy.  Darren and Jodi have a two-year-old girl, Jada.    Jada and Ethan are best buddies and it is so much fun to watch their interactions.  Jada is very outgoing and Ethan is a little more reserved.

Ryan is the younger son and just got married to Abby in Jamaica.  They work at the campground during the summer, but they live in Calgary and will be going to Australia soon to teach for a year.  So, they will be missing from the mix next year.

Tuesday – July 22

We decided to get an early start on caching, because it was going to be another hot day.  We started out at 8:15 and headed over to the public beach, where we easily found our first treasure of the day.  Actually, the first one was a “park and look”.  All we had to do was email the answers to a couple of geographical questions to the cache owner and post a photo of our GPS in front of the crater filled hill.  

 

With Garmy in fromt of Craters

That was quickly followed by two more which involved a little hiking.  Then we drove up the hill and parked at a trail-head.  We got out, forgot to take our water, and headed into the forest.  There were lots of uphills and it was already hot, but we knew that hiking out would be easy, so we persevered.  After 40 minutes, and an elevation change of over 500 feet, we had a big change of heart when we found FRESH bear poop.    

Pointing out the bear poop

We knew, from the coordinates, that we were getting close, but, according to the directions, we had to go up a cliff, which was described as “Be careful at the cache site as the terrain is steep and a fall could result in serious injury.”  We made the decision to turn back, but we didn’t count it as a failure because we had an exhilarating hike, good exercise and fresh air, and lots of fun.

We headed into Westbank and did a couple of quick errands, then we went up above the highway to find another cache.  We stopped at the Cherry Pit restaurant, which turned out to have delicious food at reasonable prices – a first since we’ve been in Canada. 

On the way home, we had to stop to look for one more cache, luckily it wasn’t too difficult to find, although the path was rough and rocky.  I had my trusty hiking stick, but I stepped wrong and fell, twisting my worst knee.  After sitting there moaning about how stupid I had been, Bill hauled me up and we left.  We got home at 1:30 and spent the rest of the day sitting in the shade outside our trailer, and reading.  For dinner, we had chicken salads with flax crackers and for dessert, we were bad and had apple strudel, which we had picked up during our trip through Westbank.  I thought my knee would be hurting like crazy, but it wasn’t bad.

Wednesday – July 23

We woke up to rain late last night and it has been raining on and off all night.  It’s a nice change, but the campers are grumbling.  I guess boating in the rain isn’t much fun.  I had to open the gates this morning so when I woke up at 5:45 and noticed that it wasn’t raining, I quickly zipped over to do that and my washroom check and got back into bed just as the rain started again.  Great timing, eh?  Bill is at work and I will be at the store from 4 to 9.  I got a call from our friend, Sherry, and she and Ennio have been busy geocaching in their beautiful mountains in McCall, Idaho.  We introduced Ennio and Sherry to caching when we visited them on the way up here at the end of June.  They were hooked on it right away, and they have already found more caches than we have.  It was so nice to talk with someone about something besides the camp.  Besides that, I just enjoy talking to her anytime. 

Thursday – July 24

So, Pat and Jodi said that I have finally become one of the family.  It only took four weeks for me to lose my nice guy act and get there.  It happened like this…  I was working in the store this morning, mostly selling candy, slushies, ice and newspapers, and giving out lots of change for the laundry and the video games.  Jodi was there part of the time, but she was working on next week’s bookings.  The phone was ringing off the hook during all this and I was considering unplugging it, as Pat has told me that I can do any time the store is busy.  But, I haven’t wanted to do that, because whenever I tell someone we have some available spots in the overflow, and they come in and decide to stay, I feel good that we had made money where we might not have done so if I hadn’t answered the phone in the first place.   This morning, though, it was the same thing over and over – “Do you have any sites available for the week of…” “We’re going to be driving there from Seattle.  Can hold a spot for us for tonight…we’ll be there in 6 hours.” “I know you don’t take pets, but we have just a very small dog and it never barks. “ (It probably never poops, either!)  “We’re driving in from Moose Jaw today (a 16 hour drive).  Can you hold a spot for us?  We’ll be there around midnight…will you stay open late so we can check in?”  Insert scream here.  I had reached the end of my rope after the last call, and there were no customers nearby, so I turned to Jodi and said, “I don’t give a fig what your story is, just drive in and see if we have a place to stick your stupid tent!!”

Jodi just burst out laughing and that’s when she told me I am now family.  Pat got back from the cottage a little after that, and Jodi told her what had happened.  Just then two of the campers, who are friends of Pat’s, walked up and Pat went into her “camper from hell” routine.  She had us all in stitches, and her monologue rivaled anything that you could find on the comedy channel.  

We finished our day, and got out of there as quickly as we could.  We had a nice leisurely drive to the cottage.  We ate dinner on the deck and started our evening reading.  But, around 8ish, we noticed airplanes circling low over the lake and the house.  We walked to the end of the dock and counted five of them, all heading toward Winfield and coming back again and again, and we could see smoke snaking up from that direction.   

We were a bit concerned, but we couldn’t smell any smoke.  TV news is a joke here because everything comes out of Seattle, so I called Pat to see if they had heard anything about a fire nearby and they hadn’t.  I assured her that we would watch and if we had to leave, we would take her computer and her quilts.  Some of the neighbors hopped on their boats and zipped over that way to see if they could find out anything.  They came back a little while later and went inside, so we figured we were safe.  We stayed up until midnight and no firemen came to tell us to leave.   When we saw Pat the next time, she told us that there had been a fire very close to us, but that it was controlled pretty quickly. 

Friday, July 25

We had a wonderful day off.  We got up at 7 and read on the deck with orange juice and coffee.  At 8:30, we fixed bacon, eggs and pancakes.  After that, we did a little bit of yard clean-up, and I got four dozen apricots to bring back to camp, most of which I will take to the house tomorrow to serve with the employee lunch.  

Raking up the fruit

By noon, it was hot – over 30 degrees, so we decided that the time had come to try out the lake.  We took the float out with us, and we had a blast.  The water was cold, but not as cold as Lake Tahoe.  Then again, we used swim in Tahoe when we were much younger.  Old bodies do better in tropical temperatures, much like they have in the Maui area.

My turn

    

We thought about taking the kayaks out, but we had so much fun just paddling around on the float, that we didn’t bother to get them out,

We had hamburgers, corn on the cob and baked beans for dinner, early, around 3:30, and we left at 5:00 because I had a mucho bad headache and I hadn’t taken the bag of pain meds with us.  We found one easy cache on the way home out of the four we looked for, and got here at 7:00.  So, tomorrow is another fun filled Saturday.  Lots of the friends we have made, who stayed for a whole month are leaving and there will be about sixty new families to get used to over the next few days. 

2017 No Name, Yet

January 4

What am I going to call this one? I hope an idea will come to me, because 2017 just isn't enough.

Kathy turned 43 on Monday, but we gave her her present on Christmas Day, Bryanna sent me a text three weeks ago, with the idea of getting her a spa getaway package at the Atlantis, so Bill and I went over there and bought her $200.00 gift cards. The girls split the cost with us. It's something that Kathy will really enjoy. She works so hard.

\

We've been living with heavy hearts for the last three weeks. Makena had a sarcoma removed from her shoulder almost three years ago, at a cost of over $1,000, and it has grown back. We've been watching it carefully, and now it has gotten rather large. Her new doctor talked about the options - do nothing or put her through surgery, chemo, and radiation, which might buy her a year or two.

At the ripe old age of eleven, we had decided not to put her through any of that for a possibility of two more years. Today, we saw her doctor and one of his colleagues, and the recommendation is for surgery, only, Because she is in excellent health, the prognosis is very good, five years or longer. If the surgery isn't done, she will be fine for a while but the tumor will continue to grow, and will soon interfere with her movement and cause pain. This time the cost will be less than $800. For five years, yes, she is worth that much. We are feeling so much better.

I have organized and backed up all our photos because I am afraid of the computer dying and losing all of them. 

We have been following the live webcam of an eagle family in Florida. There were two parents and two eggs. One egg hatched on Dec 31, and the other was supposed to follow within two to three days. It appears that may not happen. The egg just sits there and sometimes the parent that is manning the next doesn't bother to cover it. The eaglet is growing well, and it is interesting to watch the daily goings on,

Mackie especially likes watching.  

Christie saw a Tic Tac Toe board I painted for a friend of Kathy's and she asked me to make one for her granddaughter's birthday. I'm happy with the way it turned out. 

We needed a trivet in the kitchen, so I painted the eagle and her baby. I like the way it turned out. 

January 6

We went to Los Tres Hombres on Wednesday night for a delicious dinner of a burrito, a tamale and a chimichanga.  We had leftover apple pie for dessert.

Tonight, Sally, John and Kristie are coming over for dinner. I'm making a pasta casserole and I baked a two layer wacky cake for Sally's birthday. We got two sets of Gary and Sandy CDs from Mike, Gary's brother, and we are surprising Sally with one of them. I'm sure she will love them.

January 18

So, rant time, but it will be short. It is totally understandable if you are unhappy that Donald Trump is going to be our president. You have the right to your feelings. You have the right to not go to the inauguration, and to not watch it. I’m not going and I’m not going to watch it, simply because I’m not into political hoopla.

But, you don’t have the right to disrupt it. Do you think that you are going to be able to change anything? That, by you being there, causing a ruckus, trying to stop the proceedings, there will suddenly be a major change, and he won’t be president, after all? The only thing that will happen is that people will be hurt, or killed, including law enforcement people, because they are paid to be there to keep the peace, and they have no choice.

Like it or not, he is our president and the office of president of the United States is to be respected. We have to give Mr. Trump a chance, because he is what we have. We can only hope that, with guidance from his advisors, he will learn how to lead our country and how to be a person that deserves respect. 

January 26 

We had a wonderful time with Sally and John and Kristie when they came to dinner a couple of weeks ago. And we haven't seen any of our friends since then, mostly because we have been stuck in the house taking care of Mackie after her surgery. She had it on January 11, and she did well.

I had to take her to the doctor two days later, because her incision seemed to be awfully wet, but they said there was no drainage and that she must have been licking it, somehow. With the thunder shirt on, I don't see how she could have, but I stopped on the way home at Petco and got her a blow up collar to keep her from getting to it. She adjusted to that well.

From Facebook - January 12

Thank you to all of you who sent messages about Mackie. She is doing great. She slept well last night, and doesn't seem to be in any pain. She wanted breakfast super early, due to having only a scrambled egg for dinner last night, so they ate at 3:30 am and we all went back to bed until almost 7. She loves to play in the snow, and we have plenty of it, but we can't let her go out to run. Otherwise, she is a happy girl.

On January 23, she had her staples removed, and a couple of hours later, I found that the incision had opened so we had to take her back for more staples.

We went to Target and I found a child's sweater for her to wear. That seems to be working.

Tony laughed at her!

February 2

Billie Kennedy Garrow wrote on Today Show's timeline. Feb 2, 2017, 4:18 PM

My husband and I are very disappointed about some of the decisions that have been made in the last few years. We have been fans of the Today Show for 48 years, and seen changes, but this time the change is too much. Anne Curry, and now Tamron Hall were given a raw deal. Tamron was a breath of fresh air, bringing wit and laughter to the show with every appearance. She was a key member of the team. Pretty soon, it will be Matt, because he is getting too old, and Al, for whatever reason. Bringing Megyn Kelly on for the third hour was a very bad move. We will miss the Today Show, but will be getting our dose morning TV from another source.

February 5

Tony and Anais came over to Sparks on January 28, but we couldn't go anywhere because of Mackie, so they came over here for lunch. Kathy and Rommie came over for a little while, too.  Then they all left, Rommie to work on Bailey's sick car, and Kathy went with Tony and Anais to poke around some shops. They all went to Los Tres Hombres for dinner.

Mackie got her staples taken out last Friday, and she has healed well. Dr. Brock wants us to keep the sweater on her for a few more days, just to be sure she doesn't mess with her owie. We were finally able to leave the dogs home alone, so we went out to BJs for dinner with Susie and Kurt on Friday night for a late birthday celebration. They came over after dinner for cake and presents. Saturday night, we went to Mickie and Maxines for pizza and I took the left over cake. Maxine has been down because the medication she takes for her leukemia makes her bones and muscles hurt badly. And, the medication costs $10,000.00 for a one month supply. They are lucky to have good insurance like us, so the cost is not too much to handle.

We watched the Super Bowl, yesterday. The Patriots played against the Atlanta Ravens. The game was hum drum and at the end of the first half, the score was 3 to 21 with the Ravens leading. The second half got interesting, and they really had some great plays. The score at the end was tied 28 to 28, so the game went into overtime for the first time ever. After almost 4 minutes, the Patriots got a well played touchdown for the win. We had bacon sandwiches and vegies for dinner, and were warm and cozy.

My computer had been sluggish for the last few weeks so I finally took it to the Geek Squad for a tune up. They found that the ram was bad, so it only cost us about $60.00 for an 8 ram stick, double what I had. They also restored all the factory settings. The computer is working like a brand new one. It's funny, that Mickie took his computer in to them last week, and the diagnosis was the same, but they were unable to make it work, even after adding ram, so he ended up having to buy a new one. We are so glad we didn't have to do that. I don't really need a computer now that we don't have the condo, and we don't do mystery shopping, but I like having it so I can blog, and surf from the comfort of my chair.

Our weather has finally gotten a little warmer, though we are in for a week of rain. I have been able to go out to walk a few times. Bill and I went to Pah Rah to walk a little over one mile on Friday. 

February 17

So, we are supposed to be at Tony's on Wednesday morning for a week of housesitting, but there has been so much rain that there were mudslides on I80 near Baxter. More major rain is on the way, expected to be here at 1 am Monday, so we think our best window for driving will be Sunday. Even if it takes several hours to get there, as long as the road is open, we'll be okay. That will give us a coule of extra days there, but Tony said that is okay. Also, we can't put chains on the car, so we are hoping for little snow. They are leaving early Thursday morning, and he said we have something to do on Wednesday afternoon, but he didn't say what it is. We love Tony's surprises.

Yesterday, we found out that Walmart was selling Valentine roses for $2.00 per dozen so we went to get some and found that they were $1.00. So, we got nine dozen and made bouquets for Kathy, Bryanna, Bailey, Grace, Maxine, and our neighbors, Ickie and Rose. We kept one dozen for us. It was fun to make everyone happy with such a simple thing.

Mackie got her staples out one week ago, and her scar is looking good, but I saw that she has been licking it, so I put her sweater back on for a few days. She doesn't seem to mind. She will wear it over to Kathy's tomorrow, and I'll let her know that if she gets it muddy or wet, it isn't a problem for her not to wear it.

Bill is going to get a haircut today, and we are going to Sam's Club with Mickie and Maxine to see if we can find some pepperoni for Bill. It is raining so we probably won't go for a walk. We've been doing about 2 miles every day, and we plan to do longer walks when the weather gets better, We hope to do a lot of walking in the Sacramento area in the next week and one half. Monique and Brian will be there with us next weekend, and we plan to do some exploring with them.

March 5

We did leave for Tony's on Sunday, February 19, because of the threat of more bad weather. We left home at 5:15 and we made very good time, considering we had to have the cables put on just this side of Donner. From that point on, for the next 30 miles, we didn't pass or get passed by anyone. We didn't see any cars or trucks, even going the other way. It was kind of spooky.

It took only 3 hours to get to Colfax from Sparks. Besides having to drive 30 miles at 25 mph due to the cables, it was a wonderful drive. I forgot to get a pic of Bill removing them. I wonder what people who have physical challenges do if there aren't any chain guys there when it's time to take then off. We've never seen so few cars and trucks on I-80. Our plan to leave so early worked out. Now we're killing time so Anthony and Anais will have some more weekend time to themselves. — eating breakfast at TJ's Roadhouse.

We had to take the cables off ourselves, which was quite a trick without a wrench but Bill did it with very little help from me. We stopped for breakfast near Colfax at about 7:30, and got to their house by 9:30. Of course, Tony had plans for us. We went to Old Sacramento, parking near the capitol, so we had a good long walk there and back. It rained a little bit.

Tony grilled a tri tip for dinner and we watched a little bit of TV, before going to bed early. We chose the upstairs bedroom, because Monique were going to join us in a few days, and we thought it would be nice for them to have the one downstairs.

On Monday, which was Presidents's Day, Anais had to work, but Tony took us on a drive to Jackson, Ione, Plymouth, and Sutter Creek. He drove through some areas that had flooded, and he even drove through a flooded road which is something that isn't recommended. But, that's Tony. 

Later in the afternoon, we went to see Tony's office. After Anais got home, we went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner.

I woke up a little after midnight to find that the power had gone out. It was spookily dark. Tony told us later that a car had run into a power pole on Grantline Road. On Tuesday, Tony and Anais both had to work, so we hung out for most of the morning, because it was raining. In the early afternoon, I heard thunder and saw lightning, so we opened the garage door and watched a huge storm. Hail, super hard rain, and lightning followed very quickly by flooded gutters.

After Tony got home, we drove to Coloma, where gold was discovered, and we explored. It was raining, though, so it wasn't as much fun as it would have been if we had been comfortable. Anais got home a little bit after we did, and we had roast beef sandwiches and salad for dinner.

Wednesday,

In the morning, Bill and I went to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery along the river and walked, then went through the hatchery. It wasn't terribly exciting, but we got a little exercise and we saw two vultures in a tree. After Anais got home, we went to the Folsom Animal Sanctuary, where they take in abandoned, or lost wild animals that can't be put back in the wild. It was a very nice place.

After the sanctuary, we went to a power plant that was no longer operational. There was a docent who told all about it, so we learned a lot.

Telephone Booth

Thursday, we took the kids to the airport super early and got home at 4:30. We had planned to stop for breakfast, but it was really too early to eat and the only restaurants that were open were IHOP and Denny's, so we went back to bed. When we got up around 8, we had breakfast with the Today Show, and then we were ready for the day's adventure.

We drove to the Delta, a place neither of us had ever been. There was nothing special about it, but we had fun.

Bing Kong Tong Building

Clouds over the Sierra

One of many drawbridges

Counterbalance for the bridge

Art deco building in Rio Vista

Bill at the river at Rio Vista

Rio Vista bridge

Rio Vista church

Gates hold back the floodwaters

Bair shop

Humphrey the Whale memorial

Stick fence at Sandy Beach campground

Sunbeam on the clouds

On the way home from Rio Vista, I called the pizza place in Elk Grove where we went with Tony and Anais and their friends, and I ordered a pepperoni pizza and a chicken garlic pizza to take home with us. We had that with salad and had plenty left over.

Friday morning, we got an early start, because we were going to be driving away from the city, so we didn't think there would be too much of a problem with traffic. We took Scott Road, which was a Tony recommendation. We went to a lot of the same places that Tony had taken us to a few days before, but we had more time to explore them, because we weren't in any hurry. We stopped a lot along the way for pictures and to visit several towns. We enjoyed Sutter Creek, because we found a beautiful B and B called the Sutter Creek Inn, that had lots of guest rooms and is right on Main Street. We were allowed to roam through the rooms and found that there are some with swinging beds. I think it would be a perfect place to go with Susie and Kurt for a little get-a-way. 

Driving along Scott Road

Gas pump in Drytown

Old building

Driving home

We took lots of twists and turns, and ended up on Highway 49 so we drove to Placerville instead of taking the long way back. We stopped at Costco for gas and tomatoes and headed for home. We had a light dinner and took a nice long nap while waiting for Monique and Brian.

We had discovered that Hamlet was lonely during the night. He meowed outside our door several times, so I finally thought I should sleep where he could get to me. I spread a sheet on top of Anais and Tony's bed, and pulled the heavy comforter over me and Hammy was happy, so we  decided that those sleeping arrangements would work out. Just after we went to our respective beds, I got a text from Monique that they were on their way, so I rested for about an hour, and then went downstairs to get a snack ready. I cut the pizza from Elk Grove into really thin slices, and got that ready to heat up. I put  little tomatoes, apple slices and almonds on a plate. Bill woke up and we watched a little bit of TV, and Monique and Brian got there a little after 7:30.

We talked until almost 10 but we were going to have a full day on Saturday, so we finally went to bed.

Saturday morning, we went to a cute little restaurant in Folsom, called Mary's Gold Miner Cafe. Our meals were very good, and that gave us a great start.  We went to Beals Point at Granite Bay, which was were Tony had told us we would find wonderful pieces of wood. He was right! We found so much that we took a load to the house and came back for a second load. Besides wood, we collected lots of pieces of fool's gold that I am going to try to use in my paintings.

This one was too large to take.

  

We went to several other parks at Folsom, because Monique and Brian had brought their Golden Poppy pass, which lets people park at state parks for free instead of paying a $12.00 fee.  It was cool to be able to go into a parking lot and not have to pay. Some places we stayed for a while and a few didn't have anything we wanted to do, so we left and went somewhere else. 

We went to Marie Callander's for dinner. Three of us had the delicious chicken pot pie, and Brian had meatloaf. All of us were ravenous. We took a German Chocolate pie home and played Phase 10 for a couple of hours before falling into our beds exhausted. 

Sunday morning, we went to The Waffle Shop in Rancho Cordova, and, again, had a delicious breakfast. Then we went to the San Juan Rapids Trail, near Sunrise at the American River. We had a nice, calm 3.3 mile walk, with a few spots that were challenging due to the flooding. It was a good morning. 

Our new kat

We went back to the house and relaxed for a while before they had to head for home. We even sat out in the backyard because the day had warmed up a little bit. Brian and Monique left in the late afternoon. We spent the rest of the day reading and after dinner, we watched some TV. 

Monday, we knew our time was running short. We weren't sure what we should do, but Bill had developed a sharp pain in his side, so we thought we should take it easy. We went to a few dollar stores and thrift stores, looking for some display pieces for Earth Day. We found a couple of types but bought only two, because they weren't wonderful. We went to Folsom and walked around for a short time, before ending up at Pizzaria Classico, across the street from Firehouse Pizza, where we had been with Anais and Tony. We got garlic chips, which turned out to be a pizza, with white garlic sauce and mozarella. It was heavenly. Not that we needed more pizza, but we got two small pizzas and ate a little bit of each, then took them home for our dinners for the next two nights. We spent the afternoon reading.  

We were watching the news Tuesday morning, and there was a bit about the Central Pacific Railroad offering train rides from Old Sacramento. Tuesday was the first day of the season, so we got ready and drove to Old Town. We took Folsom, because we saw on Waze that the traffic on the 50 and I5 was bad. We had a fun drive. We like doing that, anyway, because we see more than we can see when driving on the freeway. 

We got to the train way before the tickets went on sale, so we walked around the town for bit. 

We got our tickets at 10:30, and, after a little delay due to all the school groups, we boarded the train. 

    

It only took us three miles, to Baths, but the narration was interesting.  We were on a first class car, called the French Quarter. In 1965, the train went from San Francisco to New Orleans going through Sacramento, Los Angeles, Tuscon and El Paso, . We learned a little bit of the history of the train and the Sacramento River. In 1980, the train was donated to California Parks and it is now entirely run by volunteers.

Me with an art deco table

The bar

The French Quarter is the reddish one

The last car on the train

After the ride, we walked across the drawbridge and back toward Baths so we could see Light Park, which is a place where there are examples of all the street lights that have been in use in Sacramento. They are very cool.

Bill's side pain was continuing to bother him, so we only walked 1.75 miles, but with what we had done before the train ride, our total for the day was almost 3.







Wednesday was our last day to explore. So, we went to the state office to buy a California Poppy pass for Tony and Anais, and we used it to go back to Beal's Point one last time. We were very discriminating about the treasures, but we did find a few.

We should have brought a saw this time

We visited "The Tree" and wished we had some way to take the good part with us.

We left in plenty of time to get to the airport to pick them up. We took Greenback instead of the freeway, and enjoyed the drive. We read for a little while, but they were there right on time. We had a good time hearing all about their trip. Tony was quite happy with the pass. It is good for 13 months. We know he will use it often.

Hamlet was happy with us, but I'm sure he was very happy to see his mom and dad get home.

We had taken three tri tip steaks out of the freezer for dinner and we made Rice A Roni, salad and cornbread to go with it. Tony grilled it for us.

They gave us some New Orleans bling and a nice fleur de lis for our house.

We left on Thursday morning. Tony said we could hang out, but there was some bad weather expected on Friday, so we wanted to go through while it was clear. We had warned them about all the wood, but I think they were surprised to see how much there was. We fit what we could in the trunk and they will bring the rest with them the next time they come here. 

We had a good, quick trip home. The road was clear all the way. It was really beautiful to see all the snow with sun shining on it.

We had expected to forget something and that turned out to be bananas and eggs. I texted Tony and this is what he texted back. 

And here is our bling and the fleur de lis. 

March 8

P

                                                  This one is for Anais and Tony

Bill and I are going to be selling my work at Idlewild Park on Earth Day, April 23.

March 21

We had a mini-dinner party on Saturday night. Bob and Patty came over for pasta casserole.  Patty desperately wants the recipe. She also wants me to see if Kathy will paint her a wine bottle like the one she gave me a few years ago. 

Sunday, we drove to Berlin-Ichthuosaur State Park. The drive was about 3 and 1/2 hours one way. We found out that the remote part of Highway 50 is still very lonely. We only saw a few cars, several live cows and two dead ones. We enjoyed the park but we didn't leave the house until 10:30, so we didn't have as much time to explore as we would have liked to have. 

The old buildings and machinery were pretty neat. 

We didn't go to Gabbs, which would have been only two miles farther up the road, because we had such a long drive ahead of us. We got home at 7. 

Monday, we went to get the car washed, and today, Tuesday, it is raining, but at least we got the dust washed off. 

We are going to to to Monique and Brian's for the weekend. What started out as a trip with Bryanna and Bailey turned into a trip for just us. The girls don't want to go because it is going to be raining, and they think walking on the beach in the rain would be not so fun. Oh well. We've planned a trip to Sacramento next week with them. Tony and Anais will drive there on Friday night, and we will all go to the beach on Saturday. Then, they are going to go to Discovery Kingdom in Vacaville. I thought the girls would like that, so Tony said they could go with he and Anais, and Phil and his family, but neither of them could be coaxed. 

March 28

We couldn't go on our trip, because Bill tweaked his back and he was hurting too much. Tony and Anais went and they had beautiful weather on Saturday so they were able to go to Bodega Bay.   

Point Reyes Lighthouse

He is feeling better so we are planning to take the girls to Auburn and Rancho Cordova on Friday. I will take them hiking at Hidden Falls Regional Park in Auburn, while Bill sits in the shade and reads, and then we will go to Tony's house. We will have dinner at Marie Callendar's. On Saturday, we will go to the animal sanctuary. I asked the girls to come up with some other things they want to do while we are over there. 

I have been getting several things finished for Earth Day. I think I have almost enough, so now I am going to go over everything and see if I can improve any of them. I figured out how to do shadows, and I've been trying some other special effects.

Before shadows

After shadows

April 7

We had a good trip to Sacramento with Bryanna and Bailey. We left at 8:30 on Friday, and got to Hidden Falls Park in Auburn around 10:30, so it had warmed to about 50. The girls and I took the trail to the falls while Bill sat in the car and read. I wanted to take a chair for him, but he insisted that he would be comfortable in the car.

The falls was beautiful, and the trail wasn't too difficult, although there was a lot of up and down areas and lots of rocks embedded in the ground. On the way back, it had warmed up considerably. Bryanna decided to run back to the car for about the last quarter mile, and Bailey stayed with me. We took one shortcut, which was rather steep, and I had a bit of rubber leg syndrome, but we made the three mile round trip there in about 1 and 1/2 hours. Both girls took lots of photos, but we were happy to see that Bailey took the camera that we got her for Christmas a couple of years ago, and she took a couple of hundred shots. She looks just like Tony sometimes, crouching down, or sitting on the ground for the perfect shot.

We wanted to eat the ham sandwiches, but we didn't want to eat in the car, so we found a park in Penryn to stop in. Lunch tasted especially good after the walk, even though we were freezing because the picnic bench was in the shade.

We got to Tony and Anais' house around  1:30 or 2, and we relaxed for a couple of hours.

The girls and I sat in the sun on the patio for a while reading and talking. Then Bailey took her blanket and laid on the lawn for a snooze.

Bryanna did the same, but she only stayed there for a few minutes. After Bill got up from his rest, we drove to the nuclear power plant and then on to Marie Callander's for dinner. Bill and I had chicken pot pies and the girls had sandwiches. We all took pieces of pie back to the house to have with Skipbo.

The next day, we went to the Waffle Shop for breakfast. The food was tasty, but it was all served cold, and we told the server, who told the cashier, who told the manager. He apologized and offered us 50% off, which was gratefully accepted, so the meal cost us $25.00 instead of $50.00. We went to Old Town and walked two miles, because Bill's back was feeling much better. Bryanna put some pennies on the train tracks and finally the train came by and she got a cute little souvenir.

Then we went to the Animal Sanctuary in Folsom. That was a disappointment compared to when we went with Anais and Tony, because a few of the exhibits were closed due to a fallen tree, and it was pretty warm, so a lot of the animals were nowhere to be found.

We only spent about a half hour there. We thought we should feed the girls, who should each weigh 200 pounds with all the food they can put away, so we went to Pizza Classico in Folsom and had garlic chips and a big salad. We all cleaned our plates and then we had a lovely drive home. I loved hearing the chatting and giggling from the back seat all the way home. I hope we will be able to take them somewhere over the summer.

I have a few more pieces ready for Earth Day, and I'm trying to wind down and get finished because it is only two weeks away.

April 12

Two days before our trip to Sacramento with the girls, our freezer in the garage stopped working. The repair man didn't get here for several hours, but we were able to save most of the food by distributing it between our inside freezer, Micky and Maxine's freezer and Kathy's freezer. We found out that Frigidaire doesn't reimburse for lost food, which makes us pretty mad, considering that the only reason you have a freezer is to keep things frozen. Our homeowner's insurance doesn't cover the loss, either. That really makes us mad. So, tomorrow, we are going to visit Laurie, our long-time agent from State Farm, about changing over to State Farm insurance again.

April 24

I had a wonderful birthday. We were sitting around relaxing after a 2 mile walk in one of our favorite areas, the Newlands near downtown Reno. We had plans to go out to dinner, just the two of us, to Outback, but I had just told Bill that I was thinking of going to Texas Roadhouse instead, because I was in the mood for Country Fried Sirloin. Tony called to wish me a happy birthday, and asked what I was doing. I told him that I was resting and reading, and suddenly, there he was standing in the room. I wasn't totally surprised, because that is the kind of thing he does, but I really didn't have clue that they were coming here

We went downtown to walk a mile and one half while taking pictures, and then we went to the restaurant. We had a 45 minute wait so we called to see if Sherri wanted to join us. We had a very good time and the meals were delicious.

We wanted to get to bed, not too late, because we had to volunteer for AARP at 8 the next morning, so Tony took us home and found Kathy waiting for us. She visited for a few minutes, and then the three of them went out for the evening.

Saturday, Bill felt poorly, and realized that he had forgotten to take his pills Friday night, so I went to the Hilton alone. It was pretty busy and I enjoyed being with Lynda and Mary. That night, we met Tony, Anais, Kathy, Bryanna, Susie and Kurt at Cantina Los Tres Hombres for dinner and, again, had a great time. We completely forgot to take even one picture, though. Susie and Kurt gave me four plumeria trees, an adorable and soft doggie blanket and some plumeria oil. We didn't stay out late because the next day was Earth Day at Idlewild Park.

Bill and I got there shortly after 8 and the unloading was uneventful. We were on an end and we had oodles of room. The lady from the booth next to ours gave us the table that was provided for her because she had her own tables, and I know we would have had a very hard time displaying everything with only one table. Kathy got there after 9 and we helped her to set her things up. She built a backdrop on which she hangs some of her things. That worked pretty well, except that we had to position our chairs right against it, so it wouldn't fall over. We sold $99.00 worth of my stuff and almost $200.00 worth of Kathy's so it was a little bit profitable. I was disappointed, though, that I didn't sell a lot more. I can't justify painting things if they are just going to sit in boxes.  I'm so glad we were able to get the space for only $65.00. The next booth, which was even smaller than ours, paid $300.00 for their space.

April 29

We worked at the Grand Sierra for Cinco de Mayo today. It was fun, but the music was super loud. The best thing that happened is that when we took a walk around to check out the other booths, we entered a drawing and won a $50.00 gift card for Walmart. That was the highlight of our day. The weather was good and we are going back tomorrow. Maybe we'll enter the drawing, again!

We had a picture taken with Lynda in front of our booth.

We got through Sunday but we were really tired from Saturday. Most of our time was spent stuffing bags. We had three Spanish speakers, so Bill and I didn't interact with the people very much. We went to lunch at Johnny Rockets, where we split a hamburger. We were gone for almost an hour and when we got back, Maria said that the crowd was much lighter, and they were almost out of the booklets and give-a-ways, so we could go home if we wanted to. That was very cool, because neither of us really wanted to stay any longer.

A few days later, we both received $25.00 gift cards from Lynda along with a lovely thank you note. So, we made $100.00 for volunteering for about 6 hours. Not bad.

May 5

On Wednesday, we drove to Squaw Valley and Tahoe City to walk and poke around. We had a nice relaxing day. We didn't get a lot of walking in, but we enjoyed getting away for a few hours. We had planned to come back through Carson City, but ended up taking Mt. Rose Highway instead, and I was glad we did, because we still didn't get home until almost 4, and if we had gone through Carson, we would have had to contend with a lot of commuter traffic.

On Thursday, Bill went to the Chair-Yoga class with me. I think he enjoyed it, and I hope he wants to continue going. I got up early and walked 3 miles, and later, Bill walked almost 3 miles with me, so my total for the day was over 7 miles and 16,000 steps.

We briefly saw Linda and Dale, who own the house next door, to the north of us. They came over to do some work on the house and when they were finished, they stopped by to visit us for a little while. They are very nice and I wish they were living there. Their renters are cordial, but we never see them because they both work.

May 7

Yesterday was a bit gloomy, so we spent the day veging. It rained most of the night but I was able to get in a nice 2 mile walk this morning.

We are spending the day mostly sitting around, reading, working on eBay and such. The sun has just peeked out, so it looks like it will be clearing up. The rest of the week is supposed to be nice.






Our yard is looking pretty good. I fertilized the grass a couple of days ago, and it is already greening up. I will have to mow it in a few days. Our flowers are beautiful. Right now, we have a lot of gorgeous tulips.

I talked to Aunt Laura on Friday morning for almost one hour, and then I called Gee. We only talked for a few minutes, but I wanted to see how her garlic chips had turned out. She said they weren't as good as the ones at Pizza Classico in Folsom. When they are at Tahoe in July, we will be going up for a couple of days and we are going to try to make them.

I bought tickets for an Abbacadabra concert on June 30 in Lincoln, Calif. Tony and Anais are going to go with us. We will take four chairs and Gary said we can go in with the band at noonish to set them up, and then when we get there that evening, we will already have seats. He is going to give us two comps, so the concert isn't costing us very much.

Bill is working on the last few things from Gary's storage unit. We have made over $2000.00 for him and $500.00 plus costs for us. As soon as his stuff ends, Bill is going to start listing some of my work to see if it will sell.

May 11

It's shameful that they are taking down historic statues such as Jefferson Davis because they "don't reflect our present day values." What's next? The White House, which was built by slaves? It's a good thing some of the greatest works of art, such as the Sphinx, the Coliseum, the Parthenon and Stonehenge are not located in this country. If they were, they would be torn down because they aren't relevant in today's society. Some of the world's most famous monuments and buildings were constructed by slave labor.

May 17

For Mother's Day with Kathy and Rommie and the girls wanted to take us out for dinner, but I said I would rather have them come here, so I made pulled pork sandwiches and served cole slaw and corn on the cob with it. We had a great visit, talking and laughing. I brought up the issue that Bryanna and Bailey had mentioned a few weeks ago, regarding the moon landing, space walk and other related things and they still say that the conspiracy theory is something that they think is possible. The way the government dupes us all the time, makes it something to think about.

I have many younger friends on Facebook, some whom were are now, or were once “my kids”, and it is with pleasure that I get to see all your posts and pictures of your own kids. You are all awesome parents, and your kids are lucky to be able to grow up in your loving care. Some of you aren’t frequent posters, which makes your posts all the more special. You ladies are the main reason I have stayed on Facebook. Happy Mother's Day to all of you.

We had Kathy and Rommie and the girls over for Mother's Day dinner last night, because I really love having them here versus going to a restaurant. They surprised me with a yellow themed gift. A crate chock full of goodies, all yellow. There were things to eat, things to wear, a plant, and even yellow silly string. What a fun thing to do! Just after they all drove away, we both remembered that we didn't take one picture while they were here. Why do we always forget to take pictures? It was a super evening.

They gave me a beautiful and fun present. A crate full of yellow. There was a plant, artificial roses, candy, lip balm, sun screen, crackers, beef jerkey, kitchen gloves, hand sanitizer, pineapple plates, a dish towel, and other cute things. Kathy brought brownies and ice cream for dessert.

Scott and Jenn sent me a lovely arrangement of sunflowers and birds of paradise. What  surprise. I went outside to get a good picture of it. (It is still looking beautiful two weeks later.)

We walked a little over 3 miles on Mother's Day, from St. Mary's to where Idlewild Park begins and then back through Reno to the River Festival. It was a nice relaxing day. For dinner we had salads and relaxed with books and TV.

We went graduation shopping on Monday, and we were out all day trying to find just the right luggage for Bryanna. We bought two sets, and Kathy is going to come over to help us decide which one is perfect. They are having a graduation dinner at Mi Casa on June 9.

Tony's birthday is next week, and we are going to try to find a time when we can go over to take them out to dinner.

May 28

This is Memorial Day weekend. We've had a pretty quiet couple of weeks. We're trying to get out and walk every evening, either before or after dinner. On Thursday, I walked in the morning, and Bill walked with me later so I did a total of almost eight miles.

Several days ago, we were walking near Pah Rah Park, when we ran into Doug and Terri King, who we knew from church and the phone company. We walked together for about one mile and then we went to their house for coffee. They have a beautiful 1/3 acre yard. They had an old, rusty Singer sewing machine sitting next to their huge garage and they said I could take it for Kathy.

Last Sunday, we went to dinner at the Nugget with Mickie and Maxine and then we came back to their house to play dominoes.

On Monday, we went to PF Chang with Rommie, Kathy and Bry after going to Morgan Stanley to sign over Bryanna's annuity to her. She chose to buy Microsoft stock with all of it, and she said she intends to leave it alone and let it grow. We think she made a very good choice. y, I shaved Bill's head for his summer do. We were sorry we didn't get to see Bailey, too, but she had some homework to do.

Patty came over Wednesday, to bring back an ice chest that she had taken home when we got together at Laurie and Dave's house, and she told me that she lost her job. She is very upset about it. I gave her the address tile I had made for her, and she loved it.

She asked if I would paint one for her sister-in-law. She brought me a tile the next day, and I painted it right away. We walked over to her house to deliver it that night.

Friday morning, I met Julie Harrison at The Nail Club for pedicures, and she paid for mine! That was quite a surprise. I really enjoyed talking with her. We haven't gotten together for a long time. After the pedis, we went to the Litehouse at the Marina for coffee, so we could continue talking. It was a really good morning.

Yesterday morning, we met Doug and Terri at 7:30 am at the Marina for a walk. We enjoyed it, but we really don't like making plans for walking with other people. We like to walk spontaneously, and we really like being able to listen to stories. We said we will do it again, but we didn't make any firm plans.

Yellow Headed Blackbirds

Thistle at the marina

I worked in the garden today, as I have been doing a lot lately. I am pretty happy with the way it looks. The grass is lush and green and everything is growing well. A couple of days ago, we discovered that the cherry tree is heavily infested with aphids so Justin will be here Tuesday to spray. I made a garlic and vinegar spray for the smaller plants, but I don't think it is doing anything, so I'll ask him to spray them, too. The peach tree I bought at Patty's neighbor's house last year, is growing well, but we don't know if it is a peach tree or not. The fruit is purple and shaped like a roma tomato. We'll see in a few weeks. Our other peach tree has several peaches on it, but it won't be as good as last year, because Bill took off the large branch that was hanging over the sunroom. I wish he didn't have to, but when the fruit got heavy, it laid on the roof and attracted ants and filled the gutter with rotten peaches.

Tomorrow, we are going to Mickie and Maxine's for dinner. Todd and the kids will probably be there, and maybe Donna and Rose. We always have a good time with them.

I had a busy walking day

Tony deactivated his Facebook account at the beginning of last week, but I knew he would be back. Today, there he was. We were going to try to have a surprise party for him. I talked to Phil, Eric and Forest but the timing was just not working out, so I guess the plan has been dropped.

I put together a little cactus garden in the dolphin fountain, because the plants I had put in it didn't do well. I think it gets too hot. The cactus look nice in it. Bryanna brought me one plant and we picked up the rest at Home Depot and Lowes. I also started a couple of plants from cuttings.

June 17

Our 49th anniversary was June 8. We thought about going out for dinner, but I really wanted to just stay home and have pizza from our freezer. We had an anniversary dinner with Susie and Kurt a week later, but we forgot to take any pictures. So, this is us in Micky and Maxine's backyard on June 14.

Jesse Hall School has started a tradition of having the graduates visit the school a few days before graduation, to inspire the kids to stay in school. Bryanna took part in this, the first one.

Kathy and Rommie had a graduation party at Mi Casa for Bryanna on June 9. A lot of Rommie's family were there, and Tony and Anais, and Monique and Brian came over for the weekend. We all had a great time.

Monique and Brian brought an air bed, so they were able to stay with us, this time and that made their visit much more fun. After we got home from dinner, we talked and put their bed together.  Saturday morning, we made pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs before going out to have fun. 

We went to Carson City for the state fair, which was a disappointment because there were no exhibits, just booths selling stuff. I bought three spinners, one for me, one for Anais and one, which I was going to keep, but I gave it to Monique because she really liked it. Brian got one for himself, but it reminded me of the gauges that people wear in their ears, so I didn't like it. 

For dinner that night, we had homemade pizza and salad and Kathy, Tony and Anais joined us. After that, we went to see the McCarran bats. They weren't as plentiful as in the past, but we still enjoyed our time together. 

After our visit to the bat colony, we played Skipbo and had cookies and milk, so we didn't get a lot of sleep. Brian and Monique left Sunday morning, and we spent the day relaxing. Kathy, Bailey and Bryanna came over around 4 on the way to another graduation party. Bailey liked her beach bag, hat and monkey and especially the Costco gift card. 

Bryanna graduated June 13. Kathy had reserved seats, which turned out to be a wonderful thing. There were hundreds of people standing outside in the heat when we got there at 4 to walk for a while, and when we were let in at 5:15, they were still standing there. It was so nice not to have to wait in line to go in. When the crowds were finally let in at 5:40, there was a mad dash to grab seats and there were a few disgruntled people who didn't like the fact that we had been able to go in early. I think they should make all the seats reserved and let people order the tickets ahead.

We have been picking oodles of cherries and giving most of them away, They are so good, and we have been able to get most of them before the birds do. 

Billie Kennedy Garrow updated her status. Jun 21, 2017, 11:43 AM

What is up with mom shaming, dad shaming, fat shaming, "anything" shaming. Whatever happened to "don't say anything if you can't say something nice." That is a good rule to follow. It is rather sad that some people feel the need to criticize other people's photos, actions, ideas, etc. I'm sure I've been guilty of doing it so, as of today, I'm going to concentrate on the positive.

June 29

Walking downtown on June 23

We met with Donna from AARP to deliver a letter to Senator Heller regarding the Affordable Care Act. She was trying to get a big group together but she only got Bill and me. The senator was in Washington, so Mary Liveratti was able to meet with him there.

The plumeria trees Susie and Kurt gave me for my birthday have finally started to grow. I planted them around the first of May and the instructions say it may take 6 to 8 weeks so they are right on schedule, but it seemed like a very long time. One of them rotted, but three out of four isn't bad. 

Tomorrow we are going to drive to Tony's and on Friday, we'll take our chairs to Sun City to set them up for the concert that night. I talked to Gary last night, and it's a good thing I did, because he thought the concert was Saturday! He would have been scrambling to get there on Friday, when someone called him to find out why he wasn't at rehearsal. 

We are going to meet Melaney and Bill Buckley at Sun City. He is going to drop off their chairs so they will be sitting with us. We have never met, but we have "talked" on Facebook and they live in Roseville. They will also be going to the GHHS reunion in October. 

This will be a busy weekend and I hope I'll have lots of pictures to add to this blog when I get back to it in a few days. 

From June 29

A Brief History of Legends

I find it rather interesting that, previous to the Outlets at Legends being built, there was a very nice indoor outlet mall at the corner of Sparks Blvd. and Interstate 80. It was visible from I-80 and was an attractive building with lots of parking. We used to go there to walk around and occasionally shop, but it never seemed to be profitable. It was closed and left empty for several years. I couldn’t find any information on when the mall opened or closed, or even what it was called. Unfortunately, I also can’t find any photos of it.

Don Mello Sports Complex, located next to the original outlet mall, was built in two phases. The first was completed in 1978 and the second in 1984. The facility accommodated league softball play for the area as well as Pop Warner football games and practices. It was here for so long, and so many kids learned to play here so it was sort of a legend in itself.

The plans for Legends were announced in 2005 and the original artist rendering showed that they were going to include the sports complex. But, in 2008, after 30 years of hosting thousands of ball games for local kids, it was relocated to Spanish Springs and became the Golden Eagle Regional Park, a beautiful and gigantic sports complex. The only problem was that kids could no longer ride their bikes from anywhere in sparks to play ball, as the new park is several miles away. We were very sorry to see it go to make way for progress.

In 2008, the first portion of Legends opened as an upscale outlet mall and is billed as one of the largest shopping malls in Reno. Since it is one of only three malls we have, that is sort of a given. Legends has grown quite a bit and now features several restaurants, stores and a huge multi-plex theater. Strangely, some of the nice restaurants, such as Cadillac Ranch and Jazz only lasted for a few years and there are several empty stores within the mall. Currently, two hotels are under construction, which is something that was promised several years ago. We are glad to see the construction going on because the dirt and weeds between Legends and the marina have been quite an eyesore. It will be good to have the area finally completed.

In the artist's rendering, it clearly shows the Don Mello Sports Complex included in the vision for Legends. The mall is nicely laid out, with lots of seating areas, sculptures, fire pits, attractive landscaping and even a small water feature for kids to play in, so it well used, even in the colder months, even though it is not an enclosed mall.

July 12

We had such a fun time with Tony and Anais, and then with Brian and Monique. The Abbacadabra concert was as wonderful as it always is. We got to the concert venue at 10 the morning of the concert, only to find that there was a sea of chairs. We found a place that we thought was adjacent to the dance floor, and an old classmate, who I had talked to on Facebook, arrived to place her chairs with ours. I got a text from Gary at 4:30, telling us that he had moved our chairs because the chairs were on the dance floor. We were on the way to dinner, so we stopped by to check and found that the chairs were in a good spot, except for being right next to the bar, so there was going to be a line blocking our view of the stage. We went on to dinner and when we got back, we hung out in their clubhouse until a few minutes after 7. I went out to move our chairs over just a few feet so we would be able to see, but when I got our there, I found that the twins, Denise and Diane were sitting in our chairs. I told them that they were in our chairs and they got belligerent and said that they were Gary's chairs. I said they were wrong, that we had brought them from our house. They reluctantly, and grumblingly got up and went to sit on the retainer wall in front of us. Melaney and her husband, Bill got there to join us and met everyone. The concert started and we were all having a good time. The band took a 15 minute intermission, which they don't usually do. Gary's older brother, Mike, who we met on the cruise, walked through our area so I greeted him. He grumbled that someone had stolen Gary's chairs. I commiserated with him, and then realized that he was talking about our chairs. He had helped Gary to move them, and thought they belonged to Gary. I didn't even try to explain, but I will tell Gary the story the next time I see him.

 

We got home way too late to watch Mama Mia, which Tony had planned, so we all went to bed. We got up early and were on the road shortly after 7. We stopped off in Davis to visit the burrowing owls, and then stopped near Vacaville for breakfast at IHOP.

We got to the Bendzick's around 10 and left shortly after for Bodega Bay. We spent a fun day, walking on the beach, visiting the area where The Birds was filmed, and having Jay and Michelle over for dinner with some of the kids.

We played Spoons with Haley, Emily, and Riley, and then, after the kids left, we watched The Birds. We enjoyed the movie, but were all disappointed that the ending wasn't really an ending. It left the fate of the people hanging, and we really didn't find our why the birds went crazy in the first place.

Sunday morning, after a breakfast of waffles and bacon, we went to Petaluma so Tony could take pictures. We walked a couple of miles and enjoyed being together. The kids left around 12 and we spent the rest of the day playing cards and watching movies.

Monday morning, we packed a picnic lunch and Brian drove us to Point Reyes where we parked about a half mile from a lighthouse and walked, in the driving wind and fog, to the lighthouse. Monique and I walked down 308 steps to get to it, while Bill and Brian waited at the top for us. We were proud of ourselves for making the trek since it was so cold. After hiking back to the car, and eating lunch, we drove to an area a little bit inland.

After hiking back to the car, and eating lunch, we drove to an area a little bit inland to explore a little bit more. Then we headed home, where we all chilled for the rest of the day. 

Tuesday morning, we hung out until about 10, and then Monique and I went for a two mile walk at Shollenberger, a nice pond with lots of birds. In the evening, Jay and Kirsten came over for a bbq with their kids and we played bocce ball until it was almost dark. Then we went out front for fireworks. We got to bed really late and in the morning, Monique went to work and we came home, with a little stop along the way for one more visit with the owls.

On Sunday, July 8, Bob and Patty came over for a couple of hours to swim, and the we went to Los Tres Hombres for dinner. We had fun being with them.

July 12

We just got home from a great visit with Joe and Gee in South Lake Tahoe. 

We arrived at the house Monday around 10 after a relaxing drive via Kingsbury Grade. The house they had traded for their Maui place was comfortable, but there were so many stairs that had to be climbed to get anywhere. Our room even had a king sized bed that was very comfortable. I made chocolate chip cookies on Sunday to take with us.

After we visited for a little while, we packed a picnic and headed over to have our pedicures. I had a creepy guy, who felt it necessary to show me the ick that he scraped out from under my nails. Other than that, it was enjoyable. 

We then went to Glen Ellen Falls, near Fallen Leaf Lake, and we took a few photos before finding a shady spot, overlooking the falls, to have our picnic. We probably spent only a little more than an hour there, before driving down to the campground to find where the kids were camped. 

We drove by a trailer, that I though looked like theirs, so Bill got out to go up to the door, and there was Rommie. We stayed there talking with him for a long time, before Kathy got back from her shopping trip at Heavenly with the other neighbors. Most of them came over to greet us, and then Kathy asked us to stay for dinner. We contributed hot dogs and buns, and they had hamburgers, boar sausages and beans. Dinner was such a nice treat because we got to spend more time with Kathy and Rommie.

We left before dark because, Joe, like us, doesn't love driving in the dark. 

Tuesday morning, I got up first so I had some time to have coffee and get ready for the day. Bill and I took off for a little while to take a walk and we ended up on the beach but it was already too hot and sunny to walk very much.

We had Kodiak pancakes and bacon for breakfast and then went to Bijou Park to try our hands at Frisbee Golf. We thought it was a kick, but the dollar store Frisbees that Gee had bought were worthless, so we all trooped over to Big Five and outfitted ourselves with real Disc Golf Frisbees. We went back to the park and finished our game.

It was a very fun time. When we got back, Gee and Joe started dinner, and Bill took a nap until about 4. Then we went to the pool to play Skipbo. 

We went into the hot tub for a few minutes before heading home for a delicious pasta dinner. Gee had even bought Mizithra as a surprise for me. She gave me one to bring home. That night, we played cards and drank and went to bed late. 

Wednesday I got up first again, and Bill rolled out of bed just before 9. Gee wasn't feeling well, so we sat around talking to Joe and watching the Today show. Gee came out and talked for a few minutes, and we left about 11 ish. We had a good drive home, topping off our gas tank at the Carson City Costco. 

There were lots of fires going on this whole time, and there still are, so we have been having some smoky air to contend with. 

July 19

Last Friday, we went to brunch at Silver Peak with Lynda and Darren from AARP. It was just a meet and greet, so we didn't have to do anything but visit with a few people.

Saturday, we went to brunch at Lexus. The food was very good. Of course, there was the usual get-together for questions/problems afterward, but we didn't have to stay long. We had one question, and after it was answered, we were out of there. We went over to visit Sally for almost an hour.

On Sunday, I started to feel icky, kind of like a bowling ball was sitting in my stomach. I felt drained and spent all day sitting on the couch watching TV and dozing. Monday, I felt a little better and Tuesday, I felt fine. I went to Reno Orthopedic with Bill to see what can be done about his leg pain. Dr. Albertson said he should have an MRI to find out exactly what the problem is. She said it might take a week to set things up. Bill told me he got a call this morning that the MRI is this afternoon, so that is really fast response time. 

During the night, my stomach took a turn for the worse and I was up for almost an hour with cramps and diarrhea. I almost passed out several times. I was so hot, that I turned the thermostat down to 71, and finally, I called out to wake Bill up because I needed the throw-up bucket. Our diagnosis is that I have Salmonella from the eggs I had at the brunch on Saturday. 

Today, I feel much better, but I am really going to take it slow regarding eating. I had half a piece of toast for breakfast, along with some iced tea. 

July 30

Patty and Bob have been coming over to swim quite often. We enjoy their company, and swimming is a good way to exercise while visiting. We had them over for dinner on Friday night for Patty's birthday, and on Thursday, I went to Olive Garden with Patty, Laurie and Rochelle for her birthday. It was fun.  I will be going to Bunco August 9 as a substitute, which I did last month, too. It's fun and I met a few new women, one of whom is a teacher who knows and used to work with Kathy.

Bryanna went to Seattle a couple of weeks ago for her senior trip. She and a friend stayed with Uncle Billy and they had a wonderful time. 

We have been loving our blackberries but I'm afraid the end is near. 

And, we already have a flower on one of the plumeria trees!   

August 5

We went to Tony and Anais for the big surprise, and it really was a surprise. We went to the Golden 1 Center to see the 50th Anniversary Neal Diamond concert. We had a fantastic time. We had diner at Cafeteria 15L. The food was wonderful. Then we went to de Vere's Irish Pub for drinks and finally it was time to walk to the surprise. I didn't know until we got inside what we were going there for. We had seats way up high, but every seat is good because they have big screens, so people can see everything up close. 

We had some free time while Tony and Anais were working, so we went downtown to walk. 

Monday night, we went to a new Spaghetti Factory, and Tuesday, Tony cooked sausage, tri-tip and spare ribs, so we ate well while we were there. Bill and I drove downtown during the day while the kids were at work so we could walk, but they were having 100 plus temps, so we didn't stay out very long. The evening of the concert, we walked 1/2 mile to get to dinner and the temperature was 108. But, since we were in the shade it didn't feel too bad.

Also, Tony sent us on a mission to find an old hardware store that he had heard of with a large hammer on top. We found it near the zoo.

August 19

We've been swimming a lot, but not much else. Sally is still in rehab, so we have been visiting her regularly. We went to an AARP dinner at Bully's in south Reno a couple of nights ago, and we had a good time. Dinner was prime rib, which I can take or leave, but this one was really good. 

Bryanna had her wisdom teeth out this morning. She was worried that she was going to be a mess after it.  

We both got new phones yesterday. Galaxy 8s. They are very similar to the 6, but have more memory and some good new security features. 

Our tomatoes are loving this cooler weather and we have been getting a lot off the container plant. The others are promising but not great. We got about 6 peaches off the tree. They were way too ripe so I cut off the bad parts and froze them for smoothies. 

We got a volunteer sunflower in our newest garden area.  It adds a cute spot of brightness to the front yard. The blueberries didn't give us any fruit, even after I moved them to a sunnier spot. I have added peat moss to them, which is what the gardening group suggested, but it is too late for this year. I hope they will do better next year. 

status. Aug 20, 2017, 10:24 AM

Rant alert - - - I think people who know me will understand what this post is trying to say even though I will probably say it rather raggedly. I've been trying to figure out exactly what the alt-right movement is all about. It can't be that every person who is representing that group is a horrible person. They can't all be Nazis and white supremacists. I don't believe that preserving the historical monuments in this country is based on racist beliefs. What do the alt-right people want? One thing they say that they want is the same rights as other groups have. I wondered what rights those are. Aren't human rights, those set forth in the Bill of Rights, what we all want? I came up with one answer, simplistic as it may be. Black Entertainment Television and Black Colleges are a thing we've had for many years. I believe they were started because black people were not receiving equal education, and the TV programing was not representing enough black viewpoints. I thought the gap was closing, though. I thought, with so many stations, there was plenty of opportunity for all groups, races, and religions to be represented. All colleges should be racially mixed by now, with varied classes that appeal to all viewpoints, and I thought they were. So, back to what the alt-right movement wants - If anyone tried to have a White Entertainment Television or White Colleges, the word "racism" would be shouted. And they would be right. Why are there any "specific color" institutions still in existence anywhere in this country? Hasn't this melting pot of all races and religions come far enough to drop all references to race and religion? I know people will say that even though the word "white" isn't in there, television, colleges, etc. are still not equal. They should be, and I thought things were headed that way years ago. But, apparently, there is still a long way to go.

September 23

We have enjoyed summer, but it appears that it is just about over. We had snow in the mountains on Thursday and Friday. (Insert sad face here.) Early in the month, we walked through Rancho San Rafael. That is one of the walks I really enjoy.

There were several lightning caused fires in the area this summer. One of them started just behind Sparks Family Hospital and burned several thousand acres and all the way to I-80.

Aug 7, 2017, 8:54 AM

According to the local news, the Prater fire consumed 3000 acres, from just behind Northern Nevada Medical Center, up the mountain and over to just east of where the "golf course" clubhouse was. Despite pretty strong winds, the firefighters kept everyone safe and no structures were burned. There were still lights on the blackened mountain just before dawn showing that they were still on the alert. Thank you to all of them.

Tony and Anais drove over for the Rib Cookoff and we joined the along with Phil, his wife Brenda and their two daughters. It was fun, but really super hot.

Heather came home for a few days so Sherri had a dinner for her. Greg, Shellie and Lisa were there, along with several friends. She and Dom will be here for Thanksgiving and his mom and her boyfriend will be there, too. Bill took the whipped cream over to Heather during dessert and squirted some in her mouth the way she used to like him to do.

I've been trying to save a large patch of grass for several weeks but I finally admitted that it was dead so I pulled out all the top layer of straw and laid down four bags of soil, added fertilizer and grass seed and I just hope it gets established before winter really sets in.

The outdoor pool is closed until next summer.  We had so much fun swimming, especially in the evenings. Bob and Patty joined us for a swim several times over the summer.

We also played bocce a couple of times. Her we are with Micky and Maxine.

Last week we drove to Mustang and walked on the McCarran Ranch trail. It is supposed to go 20 miles along the river, but after a little more than one mile, we came to a water-filled pit where the trail had washed out. We could have gone around it, but the brush was pretty thick and we had already seen two snakes, so we thought it best to just turn around. We got a got shot of a cooperative King snake who had his front end out of one hole and his rear end out of another hole.

We took our beautiful car to Lexus and traded it in on an older model to get our payments lowered by $160. per month.

We've been overdrawn by about $100 every month. Bill's medications have gone up since we hit the donut hole, and we just can't seem to get our expenses down. So, we decided we had to do some drastic cutting. We are going to take a look at our cable next. He wants to plan a cruise through the Panama Canal for our 50th anniversary and that is going to take a lot of saving.

Sally got out of the hospital last Friday, and she is feeling good although still has some pain. She and John came over for pasta casserole and salad and homemade bread last night, I made apple crisp for dessert. I got her set up on Facebook on her phone and her kindle, I hope she won't have any trouble with it.

I've been getting ready for the Andelin Farms fall festival by painting lots of jack-o-lanterns, Bill and I will have a booth selling my stuff and Kathy's stuff.

Kathy had a Lularoe party on Friday night and I went with Maxine. I had planned to buy something just to support her, but she ended up buying me a pair of leggings and a dress. Bill said he really likes the outfit. Yesterday, Kathy left another pair of leggings on the front porch as a gift for bringing a guest. Maxine bought leggings and a top. She said she has always wanted to try leggings on and she was surprised by how comfortable they are.   Then, the next morning, Kathy left another pair of leggings on the front porch for me for taking a guest to the party.

We worked at the Alzheimer's Walk at the Marina with Lynda on Saturday morning. It was fun, but started out very cold. We had a large turnout. Lynda took us to Peg's Glorified Ham and Eggs for lunch. On Monday, we are going to Claimjumper for dinner with the AARP group, and on Tuesday, there is a volunteer appreciation luncheon at the Grove. It will be a little bit of a busy week.

September 7

Billie Kennedy Garrow updated her status. Sep 7, 2017, 11:55 AM

What the heck is a donut hole, and why are we stuck in it? Zarelto, Bill's blood thinner, which has been free for three years, started costing $42.00 per month this year. Suddenly, we are in the donut hole and it is costing $157.00 per month. I'm trying to convince Bill that there is nothing wrong with having thick blood.

September 25

Billie Kennedy Garrow updated her status. Sep 25, 2017, 8:20 AM

Not standing when the American Flag is presented is not an expression of one's rights. It is an expression of disrespect for our country and for those who have served in the military to preserve our rights. Protest, march, make your speeches, but show the proper respect and give thanks that you are allowed to do all those things.

Billie Kennedy Garrow updated her status. Sep 26, 2017, 10:33 AM

This has turned out to be such a hot topic and because of the reasonable explanations that have been presented, I can see why people on both sides feel the way they do. As for me, I will continue to stand in respect of our flag, and I plan to keep out of the argument in the future. I respect people's right to their own opinions. I hope our president will do what is in the best interests of the American people. I just wish he would use more civilized language and would stop the ridiculous tweets. I'm posting this as my last words on the subject.

September 28

The following actually happened last September, but I didn't record it here. I got it from Memories on Facebook this morning, and I wanted to put it here because it is such a fun thing.

So, I had a little bit of fun this morning. We were taking Mackie to the groomer when my phone rang. The recorded voice said, "Hi, this is Heather with account services.. ." Now, we have both had many calls from Heather, and we have reported the number every time, with no apparent change in the frequency of the calls.
So, I waited until she gave me the number to push to speak with a real person. "If you own less than $300,000.00, press 7. If you owe more than $300,000.00, ...press 7. " So, I pressed 7.

Antonio came on the line. "Hello, this is Antonio. How are you today?"
Me. "Hi, Antonio. I am fantastic! How are you?"
Him. "I am doing very well, thank you for asking."
As he began to say his next thing, I interrupted with, "Thank you so much for calling me this morning. I have been so lonely."
Silence. Then. "Um, Ma'am. I'm calling about..."
Again, I interrupted with, "Antonio, I would love to talk to you about reducing my debt."
He said, "That is very good. We..."
Me, "Antonio, I owe $55,000.00 on my car, $450,000. on my house, and $80,000.00 on my credit cards, Ca you help me?"
Him, "Yes, we can. If you'll..."
Me, "My husband was just fired, and I don't like to work, so I don't know how we're going to pay off all these bills."
Him, "Well...
Bill was, by now, having a very hard time keeping his laughter silent, but he was trying.
Me, "Antonio, as I said. I've been very lonely. Would you like to have dinner with me, tonight?"
Him. Silence for several seconds. Then, "Ma'am, I don't understand."
Me. "You know, we could have dinner together and if we hit it off, you could tell me what I can do to get this debt taken care of, If you get my drift."
Him, obviously hearing Bill's laughter in the background. "Ma'am, you're husband is telling you what to say."
Me, indignantly, "That's not true.I'm doing the talking."
Him. "No, I can hear him telling you what to say."
Me. "I'm hurt. He is not saying anything. He's just laughing. I'm making all this up as we go along. Does this mean that you don't want to have dinner with me, tonight?"
Click.
I'm so looking forward to the next time Heather calls. Or anyone.

We enjoyed the dinner at Claim Jumper. They served two kinds of salad and several kinds of pizza. Their pizza is awesome!  We had dinner with Melissa and James, who we've seen several times at the AARP events. The next day was the luncheon at the Grove and the food there was good, but not great. It was fun seeing so many of the AARP people we've gotten to know, Lynda, Scott, Mary L. Mary, and Maria. 

Yesterday, we got the windows of the car tinted. That will help with the heat as well as the UV rays. It cuts the rays by 99% and the heat by 77%. Since we're going to be taking a long drive next week, we wanted to get it done before that.

We took Micky and Maxine to the airport this morning at 4:30 for their big trip to New York to visit some of their cousins and friends.

Bill has an ultrasound of his leg today, and I have a bone density test tomorrow. After that, we're free until after our trip.

The new grass is growing!

Poor sick grass Sept 1

More sick grass Sept 1

Growing Sept 28Sept 30

Sept 30

We went to Sally's this morning to continue her Facebook lesson. She is getting better at it, but she needs to practice to get more comfortable with it.  We walked around Manzanita Park for a little while before going over to Kathy and Rommie's to take the last of the tiles and rocks for the Andelin fair on October 14. When we got home we went to the pool to swim for 40 minutes and then we did stuff around the house. Bailey came over to get ready for house sitting.

October 14

We had a wonderful trip, our vacation for the year, I guess.

We got to Ann and Johns house on Tuesday, October 3. I had been there once, but Bill hadn't. It is a beautiful house and they have a sweeping view from their huge deck. We enjoyed visiting with them and on Wednesday, we went for a walk with John at Three Bridges in the morning to Morro Bay in the afternoon, where we had delicious fish and chips. We had plenty of time for relaxing and eating.

Three Bridges Walk

The trip from Ann's house to Ventura took about three hours.

We stopped at Faria Beach for a quick walk.

The reunion was fantastic. Our room had a stream just outside the slider so we had the sound of a small waterfall. I think it was the best spot for a room.

We had a cocktail party with Nina and Mike Friday night before we went out for delicious fish and chips at the same restaurant we went to with Joline and Bill last year.

Bill and I went out for an early breakfast in Old Ventura Saturday morning, and we took a long walk through the historic district. We got back in time for me to join the Hound and Hare walk but I didn't see anyone I knew and nobody engaged me, so I didn't enjoy it.

Hound and Hares

After our walk, we sat at the pool to read for a while. Ann joined us for a bit.

Ann and I helped decorate the banquet room on Saturday afternoon.

Ann left before I did, so she could rest, and as I was leaving, I was passing two ladies in the outdoor seating area, when they called out to me to join them. One of them was Kathy Hansen Grant, who I remembered. I sat and talked with them for close to an hour, and I called Ann so she could join us. It turned out that Kathy lives in Reno. We will get together sometime.

Ann Kimball, and Nina and Mike joined us for cocktails before the dinner on our lanai. We had a lovely stream and waterfall outside our door so it was a lovely setting for chatting with friends.

The dinner was good, and we were able to sit together even though we arrived well after most everyone else. It was so great to see people I hadn't seen in 50 years, and so many of the "girls" who were really popular were so friendly and welcoming. Debbie George, Patty Gosgarian, and Kathy Butler, just to name a few. I talked to Paul Crain, who is thinking of moving to Reno.

Ann, Susan Holman and Nina

Anne, Mike, Nina, and Conni Walsh Wackerman

With Kathy Butler

Debbie Eastman Miniger

Ann left about 9 and Nina and Mike and Anne left at 9:30. But I was having a good time, so I stayed and sat with Debbie George. Rachelle Richardson Philips and Debbie Eastman Miniger, who I went to grammar school with, were also fun to talk to, and we danced a little bit, just the way we used to dance in school, without any boys. It was really fun. I went back to the room at 11:30 and had a pretty good sleep.

Rachelle Richardson Philips

Ann and John left before 7 the on Sunday morning so we didn't see them again. We went to Carrows for breakfast and then took a walk, ending up at San Bonaventura Park for the beach party.

We talked with some of the same people I had been with at the dinner, but also saw a few I hadn't seen. Kristina Weiss Newcomer, Kerry O'Dair, Bo Gay Tong,

Kristina Weiss Newcomer

We enjoyed our drive to Canyon Country. We got there in the early afternoon, and Joline had cold cuts waiting for us so we had ham and turkey and cheese sandwiches and potato salad and baked beans for dinner. We had a good visit. We didn't play any games this time, but we were kept busy.

We went to bowling with Joline on Monday morning. It is fun to watch her and her friends bowl, but I don't really like bowling and it was so cold in there. We stopped to fill the car up with gas at Costco, and spent the afternoon relaxing. Dinner was meatloaf, the best I've ever had, much better than mine!

On Tuesday, we took the Metrolink from CC to Union Station. That was really fun. We walked around Olvera Street, going into the first house ever built in Los Angeles. We discovered an Italian Museum that we had never seen before and we went to China Town, which was quite a disappointment, being really icky. Bill (hers) kept apologizing for taking us there, and finally I told him that, despite the way the street was, we were having a great time, and he had nothing to apologize for. 

Unnion Station

Ceiling in Union Station

The day was a success as far as we were concerned. Dinner that night was Joline's delicious spaghetti sauce, salad and garlic bread, always our favorite kind of meal.

We left Wednesday morning, after having an hour to talk with Joline before Bill got up. The drive home was fun, and we enjoyed seeing the fall colors.

Red Rock Canyon

Mono Lake

October 14

The Fall Festival at Andelin Farms was fun, except we froze with the cooler temps and the winds. We made about $90.00 and Kathy made about $50.00, but she has already sold most of her stuff on Facebook. I am going to create a sales page like hers to see if I can get some of my things out of here.

Before we had extra table

All set up

Drumming up business

Maxine called in the early afternoon to ask us to go over for chili for dinner. It was delicious after a day of work and being cold.

Sunday, we picked up our rocks and tiles at Kathy's. We took her Explorer and Bailey drove our car over to pick it up, so we didn't have to drive back to her house. Patty and Bob came over to swim in the afternoon. And that was our day.


October 15

I posted this, last night. I've gotten a lot of responses.

I am not denying that sexual harassment is a terrible thing, and should be reported and dealt with. I understand that there is sexual harassment in the workplace, as well. That is never okay, and it is great that those incidents are being brought into the open. Harassers need to be stopped. However, I think too many things are being labeled as sexual harassment. Sometimes a comment is just a comment. "I like your dress," is a statement of fact whether by a man or a woman. "Your hair looks especially good, today" Is simply a compliment. So much depends on context, expression, and nuance. Throughout my life, if a man said something that was not wanted, I would tell him "no." If I was touched in a way that I didn't want, I would say "no." If I thought a joke was inappropriate, I would walk away, or tell the person it was not appreciated. It seems that instead of simply saying no, a lot of women are crying out that they have been sexually harassed. Sometimes "No" really is enough. I invite discussion.

Jenny KB Sometimes the "no" is not respected. And avoidance is not always an option.

Remove

Billie Kennedy Garrow Of course, you're right and agree that when it happens, it should be stopped immediately. I only want to point out that not every comment is sexual harassment.

Manage

Jenny KB I think we need more real examples of what you mean. I don't think women are complaining or reporting simple compliments, unless the compliment is combined with a leering manner.

Remove

Robin Baizel Or is repeated by a person in a position of authority over them. Where a possibility of a no means a missed promotion, or firing. Which is very hard to prove, so taking it to court is not usually an option.

Robin Baizel No was finally enough when a classmates father offered me a ride home, bypassed my house and tried to have sex with me when I was 14. According to your logic, because he finally let me go after I repeatedly said no, That doesn't count as assault?

Remove

Billie Kennedy Garrow Of course it was. I'm talking about women who report an off color remark, or a simple compliment that they may not be interested in receiving. Certainty after one no, if it is repeated, the wishes of the woman are not being respected.

Manage

Robin Baizel I doubt that is very prevalent. It may happen, but that is not what this is about at this time.

Laurie Ann Holtz I agree totally! Good thoughts...

Remove

Dennis W. Ragsdale Standards and thresholds have certainly changed. Im glad I'm not in the dating scene anymore; very stressful.

Remove

Kristen Spinola Admittedly it has gotten confusing and society is getting a bit over sensitive. On the flip side I think men have gotten really, I don't know, unreasonable in some cases. Especially street harassment by strangers, the things they say and they even follow you for blocks. I feel like it's gotten worse. I'm all for a random compliment, but when I'm concerned about my safety we have crossed into a totally different territory. So it's a bit of both.

Remove

Dennis W. Ragsdale I spent a year in Italy back in the '70's. American men are verrry tame by comparison. I'm sure it varies place to place.

Remove

Kristen Spinola Lol, I've been to Italy many times. They can be very aggressive and certainly very handsy but the feeling behind it is different. I never felt like if I rejected an Italian man the next step would be violence.

Craig Werner I agree. Of course, I've always thought you are incredibly hot and would look sexy in a burlap sack. Oh, was that too much? Did I say that or just think it?😉😘

Remove

Susie Montejano Holub I agree Billie, but I feel that ANYTHING that makes you uncomfortable can be conceived as harassment. I don’t know any woman who hasn’t been harassed. Remember , the days of catcalls and whistles?

Remove

Billie Kennedy Garrow I do. I hated to have to walk by construction crews for that reason.

Rochelle Catlett Do agree totally with what you commented on. When I was 19, living at home, attending Univ of Nv mornings, found afternoon job doing secretary work. The man owned a small warehouse & 2nd day at job he made advances & literally chased me around desk - left immediately & never went back. Only mentioned it to friends.It's sad today how many women get angry over compliments or whatever in the work place.

Remove

Lisa Shannon Partee Well stated, Billie Kennedy Garrow! (as usual)!

Remove

Billie Kennedy Garrow Part of this problem is that people get their feelings hurt far too easily. They are offended too often by things that would have not been considered offensive a few years ago. I guess I was lucky that I was always able to fend off the over-zealous date and the crude boss. But I don't think I was any stronger or more prepared for those than any other woman. I think maybe my generation was more thick-skinned than young women today. We blew the guys away with our words instead of crying about being harassed when we simply didn't want their attentions. "No" meant "no" and I was lucky that my "No" was seldom challenged. Only twice should I have reported actual sexual harassment, but I was very young and afraid, and extremely fortunate that I was able to escape. I've always regretted not reporting them, and hoped they didn't go on to victimize other young girls. But, as I said, I was quite young and it was very embarrassing. I knew reporting the incidents would hurt people I was close to. I'm not saying that harassment does not happen or that the harassed should shrug it off. Just be sure that you don't misunderstand a man's intentions and report a crime where there isn't one. But if there is an actual event that should be stopped immediately, go for it and protect future potential victims.

Manage

Kim Kapaun Richardson Maybe the “overly sensitive “ people are sick and tired of being treated like sexual objects instead of respected as human beings. Harassers should not get away with it and just saying that it happens to everyone doesn’t make it right. By talking about it maybe we can change the culture and teach people to treat each other with respect.

Remove

Susie Montejano Holub Also, some women aren’t as courageous , as others. This is not a fault... some are just frightened. It takes a lot to speak up, especially, if there may be consequences. I don’t feel that discussion should be about what does or does not qualify the complaint .

Remove

Robin Baizel There you go. Billie, notice that you are critical of women who didn't say no firmly or leave a job because of sexual harassment. 

You have not expresses outrage, or condemnation of the men who have harassed.

That is why it is so rampant. As women, we belittle the women who do respond in the ways we deem appropriate, but never hold the men responsible for harassing, or even assaulting.

Remove

Billie Kennedy Garrow I'm not expressing outrage here, because I am not talking about actual offenders. If you will notice, I'm talking about the women who cry foul about everything. And I do condemn anyone who takes away freedom from fear of another person

Remove

Billie Kennedy Garrow I knew I was opening a can of worms with this post, and I am happy that so many people are discussing it. But it appears that some of you think that I condone, or don't understand sexual harassment. But, I did say the men need to be stopped and because it is a crime, punished. And it goes both ways. Men are harassed as well. I was only referring to the multitudes of women who complain about everything they don't like and call it harassment. If everything is branded as harassment, then the real culprits will be lost in the crowd. One example I can think of right now is flirting. The fun give and take when people are getting to know each other but before they have actually begun to date each other. When I was young that was how we found out if we liked one another. We talked and joked and discovered what we had in common. The way things are now, I wonder if boys even understand how that works. Or if it is even still possible to flirt. Of course, if the flirting is not wanted, and continues, that is harassment and needs to be curtailed. But if a guy is afraid he will be reported just for approaching a girl, he just might not bother and a possible friendship/romance will not happen.

October 16

Such sad news. Nate Buchanan, the son of Cory and Lisa, shot himself and isn't expected to survive. Such a waste of a young life. I immediately sent a text to Bryanna and Bailey to tell them we love them and they can come to us with any problem, any time.

Nate went to be with God on Oct 19 after donating his organs. We will be going to a Celebration of Life on October 29.

October 20

Yesterday, we took some flowers to Kathy at her school. We tried to leave them anonymously, but she saw us because her classroom is right by the front door.

We have been out as much as possible in the past week, enjoying Fall. We hiked up the canyon at Hidden Valley on Tuesday, and drove to Lake Tahoe by way of Carson City on Wednesday. We walked one mile at Spooner, on the Tahoe Rim Trail. I've always wanted to walk on the trail, so, now I can say we did it, if only for one mile. Then we drove to King's Beach, where we walked another mile, and then on to Tahoe City, for another mile. We got lots of photos of the beautiful Fall colors along the way. We ended up in Trucked at Zanos, where we had gone a few times for pizza. It was disappointing, but we had a wonderful day.

Spooner Lake Trail

King's Beach Pics

Cool Pier Shot

These were taken at Common's Beach and at Fanny Bridge

Cool Stair Shot

October 26

Last Friday, we decided to take one last Fall trip because soon the leaves will be gone. We really didn't need a getaway, but we won't be able to go to many places when it gets really cold. We went up to Graeagle to stay for one night with Kurt and Susie in their new house. It was a great drive with very little traffic. We went through Truckee and up 89 so it took almost two hours with stops for photos.

Their house is quite comfortable and it is in a beautiful forest setting. There were lots of deer visiting while we were there. Friday afternoon, we mostly sat around and talked. Dinner was Susie's famous beans, hot dogs and baked apples, and we played Rumicube before heading off to bed rather early.

Saturday morning, we had scrambled eggs, toast and pumpkin donuts for breakfast and then Susie, Bill and I went to the Mohawk Mill in the Plumas -Eureka State Park to walk and look at the exhibits. Kurt couldn't go because he had to wait for some service people to stop by to give him estimates on some work they want done.

We had a fun time, and got back around noon. We left shortly after that because they had things to do. Our drive back was very good. 


October 29

Fall has been lovely, with perfect weather. Winter will be here too soon.

In the last week ....

We visited Sally in her rehab for over an hour, showing her pictures of our trips.

Walked 3.5 miles through the UNR campus after visiting Dr. Albertson for Bill's knee. 

AARP Sherlock Holmes Mystery and lunch at The Wal. Fun.

Raked the backyard, again, and mulched some of the leaves. Bill also cleaned the gutters.

October 20

                                                                                                       October 29 Maples are bare

Maxine has been in a lot of pain from her siatica, so she hasn't been able to do much. We went to their house  Friday night and took pizza, salad and brownies. She felt well enough to play cards.

We walked through midtown on Saturday. Only 2 miles.

We went to Nathan Buchanan's Celebration of Life last night. It was very moving. Several people spoke about him, including Rommie and Hannah. The Wild Hawk Gang got on stage.  After that, we didn't feel like making dinner, so we stopped at Applebees and picked up a salad and a sandwich.

This morning, we took the dogs for a walk and stopped at the dog park so they could run. They are pretty exhausted,

November 2

We stopped by to see Sally two days ago, and she was not doing well. She said her potassium is too high, so they are treating that. She was doing so well, and I know this setback is getting her down. I wish there was something we could do to help.

Yesterday, we walked tp Walgreens and Ace Hardware.  It was a walk of 3.48 miles and we were tired, but neither of us felt sore this morning.

We went to walk at Oxbow today. Only 1 and 1/2 miles, but we had a really good time taking little side paths through the brush and trees and dodging the brambles and thorny branches.

  

_{^{Bry's birthday dinner was at PF Chang.}}

November 16

Last Wednesday, Tony dropped in to visit for two days.

He had mentioned that he might come over, and he texted me on Tuesday to tell me he was coming, but I thought the text thread was with someone else so we were a bit surprised. We went to the Virginia City area and spent a lot of time exploring and finding treasures for Kathy. 

We haWe hd lunch at the Palace and got home around 3. We met Kathy and gang for dinner at Los Compadres. We got home about 7, watched TV for a little while and went to bed early because we were all beat. It was a good day. 

Thursday, Tony and Kathy went to Washoe Valley to pick up a piece of furniture, and then met us downtown to walk for a while. Bill had an appointment with a nephrologist to see why his kidney function is high. We are going to be pursuing that. 

That nigh I had planned a tri tip roast, but Tony had dinner with Phil, so we had a quiet evening. Tony got home about 6:30 and we watched TV for an hour or so. We all went to bed early again. Tony left early the next morning. 

Then, we were sitting on the couch, watching reading on Saturday afternoon, when Kathy texted, "R U home?" but I didn't see the text right away. Suddenly she walked in, followed by Tony and Anais. They had decide to come back to help Kathy get some furniture from Washoe Valley. I had planned to make pizza for Bill and me, and the sauce was almost done, so they decided to stay here for dinner instead of taking us to the Nugget Buffet. Kathy called Bailey and she joined us for dinner. It was a fun, impromptu evening. 

November 23

Thanksgiving was yesterday, and we had a very good time at Sherri's house. Heather and Dom, Adrienne and her boyfriend, Peter,Jennifer and her family, Shelly and Gordon along with Gordon, Sr., Lisa and Dave, and their daughter, Heather with her new boyfriend, and Lily, her daughter, Greg, Susie and Steve and us. Quite a crowd and we visited with everyone, especially Gordon, Sr. He is a very interesting man. Unfortunately, his girlfriend, Mimi, who we met last Thanksgiving, fell and hurt her head, so she stayed home with a bad headache, and then her cat got sick and she had to have him put to sleep. Very sad for her. We really liked Adrianne, and when we first saw her, we both said she couldn't be Dom's mom because she was too young, so that got us off to a good start. We only took a few photos, and none that were very good, but I'll out what I have on this just to look back on.

We got a call from Tony during the party, but we missed it, so we called him back this morning, and found out that he and Anais were in town and wanted to go to Sherri's to see Heather and Dom. That would have been so fun. They stayed at Phil's last night, and went over to Sherri's this morning, so at least they got to see each other.

November 30

Today is Kathy and Rommie's 21st anniversary. We remember their beautiful wedding on the beach in Maui as if it happened only a few weeks ago. They have had a good life and have two daughters to be very proud of.

Today, we had lunch at Casales for an AARP meet to talk to Veterans. The food was very good, and the people who own the restaurant, which has been in business by the same family for 80 years, are super nice. They gave us a tour of the kitchen, including the pasta room, where they hand make all their pastas using the original wooden rolling pins the grandmother, who is still alive, brought here from Italy. It was a fascinating history of the oldest restaurant in Nevada.

Tomorrow, there is an AARP appreciation brunch at the Renaissance Hotel in Reno. Saturday, if the weather cooperates, we are going tree hunting with the Wild Hawke Gang and Saturday night, we're going to Sherri's for dinner to see Heather and Dom one more time before they go back to Gibraltar.

Nick Briscoe came over to paint the sun room roof yesterday, to see if we can keep it from leaking if the snow builds up again this year. We've been busy making candy for Christmas gifts, and we have most of our Christmas shopping finished. 

December 11

Wow, this month is half over already. We have been busy shopping and baking and we are just about ready for Christmas. We sent Scott's family gift at the beginning of the month and we got one from them a couple of days ago. We sent homemade candy, and put together a fun package of things for breakfast, including a silver dollar pancake pan with snowflake shapes in the pancake forms, syrups, pancake mixes, coffee, and a couple of other small things. If they were closer to us, it would be so fun to be able to get them more personal things, but we just don't know what kind of things to get for them. They sent a box from Harry and David, with candies, other sweets, and a dozen pears. Yummy!

There have been terrible fires in the Ventura, Ojai area for the past week, as well as several other fires in the Southern California area. Joline and all the kids are safe, but it is very scary for all of them because they are right there in or on the edge of the forested areas.

We went tree hunting with the Wild Hawk Gang on December 2. It was lots of fun. Kathy drove their truck, because Rommie had to work that weekend, and Bryanna was with us. Bailey had to go to Yerington for wrestling so she couldn't go.

We had planned to get a three foot tree, but we ended up with a seven foot one. Since you can't cut short ones anyway, we were going to shorten the one we got when we got it home, but it was so pretty, and we were able to fit it in the corner by the window near the kitchen counter.  It looks pretty all decorated. This is the first year in quite a while that we've had a large tree. Most of the presents are wrapped and ready to be given out. We didn't get anyone big things, but we were able to find lots of little things for Kathy's family and for Tony and Anais, who, we think, will be here for Christmas Day. I made pillows for Kathy and Rommie's new sofa and I am very happy with the way they turned out. I really hope they like them.

After the tree hunt, we went to Sherri's house for a bon voyage party for Heather and Dom. It was fun, as her gatherings always are.

On December 3, there was a super-moon. We got a couple of good pictures of it just after it rose.

We are going to have a post-Christmas party on December 30. We have asked the Spinolas, Kleins, Johnsons, Texieras, Partees, Sherri, Greg, Shellie, Gordon, Mimi, Gordon Sr., Briggs, Raffanellis, Ragsdales, Houcks, Harrisons and Browns. So far, only a few people have responded to the Facebook invitation, so I might have to make some phone calls.

A couple of days ago, we ran into Barbara Houck at Walmart. We talked for quite a while and decided that we should get together. We hadn't seen her since Tony graduated from high school!

On Saturday, Bill and I went to the Sparks Christmas display on Victorian. It wasn't much, but we enjoyed walking around and seeing the things on display and there were some interesting things for sale.

There was a craft fair at Mendive in early December. It was the first year for the craft fair, but there were a lot of people there. We sold a few tiles and rocks, but didn't make enough to cover the $40.00, but it was only three hours and we had a good time. Our customers were the kids of one of the vendors and they were quite entertaining.

We visited Sally last week. She is finally feeling better and they are planning on coming to our Post Christmas party.

We got a box of Christmas goodies from Scott and Jenn and the boys about two weeks ago. There were candies and cookies, and about 7 delicious pears. We enjoyed the pears for several days, and some of the candies are waiting to be devoured. We went them a snowflake silver dollar pancake pan, three kinds of pancake mix, syrups, and coffee. We included a packet of homemade truffles. They are so hard to buy for, because they really don't need anything, and the boys are so into video things. We hope they like what we sent.

.

December 22

The presents are finally all under the Christmas tree.

I've been doing a lot of baking and candy making. Bill has done a lot to help. Especially with the candy making and cleaning the kitchen!

Banana Nut Bread

Briggs Thumbprint Cookies with chocolate ganache dolop

Peanut Butter Truffles

Melting Moments

Kahlua Truffles and chocolate almonds

Goodies for neighbors, Rose and Kay

Brown Sugar Cookies with Kahlua Frosting

Banana Nut Bread

Last night, we went to the Silver Peak restaurant on Sierra for a lovely buffet dinner as part of an AARP party. We had a good time talking with Lynda, Mary, Maria, Damon, and Jacqueline. After dinner, we walked to the Bruka theater where we were treated to Buttcracker 8. The Buttcracker tradition was begun in 2006, but they don't do one every year. Last night's performance was dedicated to the Donner Party. We never been ballet fans, but the show was well done and quite funny. We met a couple at the restaurant, named Mark and Barb Deeter. They sat with us at dinner, and we shared a couch at the play, too. We exchanged information and plan to keep in touch.

Maria needed a little rest

Christmas is almost here, and we have been ready for several days. We thought Tony and Anais were going to be here for Christmas Day, but Anais has to work on the 26^th, so they won’t be coming until the following weekend. They will be at our party, so that will be wonderful.

We will go to Liz and Dave’s house for a Christmas Eve party and when we get home, we will load the car so we are ready to go to Kathy’s house early in the morning. We are not invited to Grace’s house this year, because she hasn’t been very well, but we will go over for dinner on Christmas Day. Kathy asked me to take cookies, and I am also going to take candy cane coated truffles. 

December 20

Each year, our children ask us the same question. After thinking about it, we decided we'd give them our real answer. What do we want for Christmas? We want you. We want you to keep coming around. We want you to bring your kids around. We want you to ask us questions, ask our advice, tell us your problems, ask for our opinion and ask for our help. We want you to come over and rant about your problems, rant about life, whatever. Tell us about your job, your worries, your spouse, your kids, your fur babies. We want you to continue sharing your life with us. Come over and laugh with us, or laugh at us. We don't care. Hearing you laugh is music to us. We spent the better part of our lives raising you the best way we knew how, and we're not bragging, but we did a pretty darn good job. Now, give us time to sit back and admire our work. We're pretty proud of it. Raid our refrigerator, help yourself. We really don't mind. In fact, we wouldn't want it any other way. We want you to spend your money making a better life for you and your family. We have the things we need. We want to see you happy and healthy. When you ask us what we want for Christmas, we say "nothing" because you've already been giving us our gift all year. We just want you!

We had a Christmas Eve surprise. We were reading in the living room in the late afternoon, when Gary showed up at our door. He wanted us to ride along with him to a music store in south Reno to pick up something he had ordered for one of his grandkids. On Christmas Eve! Just a couple of hours before we were going to go to a party. We were all ready except for getting into our fancy clothes, so, we went. We enjoyed being with him, and I got a bonus. He sat at a keyboard while waiting for the salesman to get his package, and sang a little bit of Rhapsody for me!  What a treat.

Our reward for going with Gary Raffanelli on an errand was an impromptu concert featuring Rhapsody.

The party at Liz and Dave's was so much fun. We talked to lots of new people and had the most delicious food. Tori and Tyler were there. They have grown into fun and interesting people.

December 25

Christmas morning with the Browns. Always wonderful.

After a delicious breakfast, presents and laughs at the Browns, we came home to spend the day relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. — with Bryanna Brown and 2 others.

December 30

Kathy, Rommie, Anais, and Tony joined us for presents and breakfast this morning. 

They re-decorated the Christmas tree in the backyard for us and Kathy prepared some of the candy dishes. The guest gifts, many supplied by Tony and Anais, are wrapped and ready. So, let the party begin.

The party was wonderful. I think everyone had a great time.

 

It was a perfect end to a wonderful year.